Zamani Letjane's journey began in 1980 as an HR Practitioner at a private construction company. He later joined the Local Authority’s HR department, where he served for 10 years and became a Trustee of the Local Government Pension Fund, responsible for identifying sites for shopping centres. His 20+ years of experience as a Trustee inspired the launch of Akani Properties in 2005, a 100% black-owned property development and management company.

In 1999, he founded Akani Retirement Fund Administrators which has grown the Municipal Employees Pension Fund (MEPF) from R1.4 billion to over R27 billion in assets. Notable projects include the R950 million Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre in Kempton Park, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2020, and a new hotel and convention centre in Middleburg, Mpumalanga. Zamani is a true pioneer in property and retirement fund management.

About the podcast:

Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers.

For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us:

E: [email protected]

T: 011 572 1033

Zibusiso Mkhwanazi is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and Executive Chairman of M+N, CEO of Avatar X and widely recognised as the co-founder of Avatar, one of Africa’s leading black-owned integrated marketing and advertising agencies. His journey from humble beginnings to industry trailblazer is a testament to vision, resilience, and a deep commitment to unlocking African creativity for the world.Mkhwanazi began his entrepreneurial path by investing R2,000 from his mother into the stock market, growing it into R14,000, seed capital that funded his first business, Csonke, a web development company. After merging with a competitor to form Krazyboyz, he helped build one of South Africa’s top five digital agencies. He later partnered with Veli Ngubane to launch Avatar, a through-the-line agency that has redefined the marketing landscape through innovation and inclusive leadership.Under his leadership, Avatar has achieved numerous industry firsts:• Selected by Absa as the first black-owned lead agency for a top 10 brand in Africa• Appointed by the South African Presidency to lead national communications during the COVID-19 pandemic• Expanded to service nine African markets through Absa and Isuzu• Became the first African global agency for a global brand through its partnership with TECNO MobileIn 2024, Avatar won the Small Biz, Big Impact Ministerial Award at the Presidential MSME & Cooperatives Awards. That same year, Mkhwanazi was nominated by MarkLives for Agency Business Leader 2025 and celebrated as an Africa Rising Star. His leadership continues to position Avatar among the top five independent agencies in Africa, with over 200 employees and a turnover exceeding half a billion rand annually.Mkhwanazi is also the author of Business by Grace, a hybrid memoir and entrepreneurial manual. The book achieved #1 and #2 bestseller status at selected Exclusive Books stores, offering insight into his philosophy of faith-driven leadership and sustainable business growth.His accolades include being named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a finalist for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards, and receiving an entrepreneurial excellence award presented by Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.Beyond business, Zibusiso is a dedicated philanthropist and mentor. He founded the Mkhwanazi Foundation, which empowers emerging entrepreneurs through skills development and mentorship, and established David’s League, a Christian-based mentorship programme cultivating values-driven leadership. He also served as a trustee of NEET, a non-profit that has funded over 4,200 scholarships for underprivileged ICT students.Mkhwanazi’s impact lies not only in the brands he’s built, but in the lives he continues to uplift, championing inclusion, creativity, and African excellence on a global stage.About the podcast: Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers. For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us: E: [email protected] T: 011 572 1033

Dr. Steven Zwane is a distinguished academic, executive, and social entrepreneur with over two decades of cross-sector leadership experience spanning financial services, education, non-profit, and consulting. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Steven is the 2025 Social Impact Leader of the Year, recognised by the Future Leaders Forum for his unwavering commitment to community upliftment, entrepreneurship education, and inclusive leadership. A Nelson Mandela Scholar (2006), he holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) and MBA from Durham University (UK), and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Zululand.A passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, strategy, and operations management, Dr. Zwane is the co-author: of Rising from the Township – Inspiring Stories of South African Entrepreneurs (2024)—a powerful book informed by his doctoral research, written to close the entrepreneurial role model gap and celebrate the resilience of township-born innovators; and Business By Grace, Zibusiso Mkhwanazi’s Entrepreneurial memoir on how he built a world changing advertising business with R2000 (2025). He is also the Founder and former Chairperson of the Youth Leadership & Entrepreneurship Development (YLED) NPO, which since 2004 has impacted over 20,000 Grade 11 learners through a flagship Saturday school model focused on life skills, mentorship, and entrepreneurial development.About the podcast: Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers. For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us: E: [email protected] T: 011 572 1033

Dr Thami Mazwai is the founder of Mtiya Dynamics(MD), an enterprise and supplier development company. MD specialises in the design of small business development solutions. He is research associate at the Nelson Mandela University (NMU). He conceptualised, edited and in 2024 produced the book “The Journey of the Soweto Entrepreneurs since 1905”. This was an overview on the evolution of entrepreneurship in Soweto. The activist and former journalist expanded his craft of journalism to more than keeping society abreast of the happenings of the Apartheid era but furthered his craft and molded it into becoming a formidable instrument for the liberation struggle and the empowerment of Black people to participate in the post-Apartheid economy of South Africa.He is currently involved in efforts to stimulate the economies of townships, villages and informal settlements to assist in the eradication of poverty, unemployment and inequality. His interest in township economies started when he was still with the Sowetan newspaper where he started the business pages, the first newspaper aimed at the black community to do so. Morphing from journalist to researcher, he is driven by his passion for transformation that lessens poverty, unemployment and inequality (PUI).About the podcast: Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers. For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us: E: [email protected] T: 011 572 1033

Tumelo Chaka is a commercial strategist and entrepreneurial dealmaker known for turning opportunities into high-value outcomes for stakeholders. With deep experience in Financial Services, Retail and Executive Education, he currently leads FNB’s Entry Wallet segment, focusing on South Africans earning up to R36,000 annually.Previously at Nedbank, he headed Commercialisation for Emerging Payments and led Sales Strategy for Forex and Investments. Tumelo has carved a niche in creating innovative products for informal and emerging markets.Renowned as a visionary with expertise in international business, strategic investments, and market expansion, he has worked on deal structuring and advisory in China and contributed to global sales strategies.He is a thought leader in fintech, retail banking, and business education, and is often invited to speak and write on these subjects. Tumelo is pursuing a Ph.D. in Marketing at UCT (focused on decision-making in low-income FMCG consumers) and a master's in digital business at Wits.His speaking style is authentic and engaging, rooted in personal experience and strategic insight.Speaking Topics:1. Policy Direction & Implementation2. Socioeconomic Development3. Corporate Governance & Ethics4. Active CitizenshipTumelo Chaka Social Media: Instagram: iamdrtumelochakaFacebook: tumelo chakaAbout the podcast: Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers.For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us:E: [email protected] T: 011 572 1033

Mr. Mashimbye is a qualified financial accountant who

studied at the Technikon Northern Gauteng (now Tshwane

University of Technology) and the Technikon South Africa

(now UNISA).

He majored in Financial Accounting and Corporate Law and

also studied towards his MBA with the Management College

of SA (still to be completed). He is currently completing his

studies towards his Corporate Governance qualification

through the Chartered Secretaries Institute of South Africa.

He spent more than 17 years in accounting and financial

management roles, in both the public and the private sector

with Telkom, Edcon, the Department of Trade & Industry

and Proudly SA, with more than 10 years of these at senior

management level.

Mashimbye has served on the board of The Business Place

and is currently a Director on the Board of the South African

Savings Institute, where he previously also held the position

of Audit and Risk Committee Chairperson.

Eustace Mashimbye Social Media:

FB: Eustace Mashimbye

X: @EusMas

Proudly South African Social Media:

IG: Proudly South African

LinkedIn: Proudly South African

TikTok: Proudly_South_African

X: ProudlySA

FB: Proudly South African

About the podcast:

Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers.

For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us:

E: [email protected]

T: 011 572 1033

Rita Zwane, affectionately known as MaZwane, is a pioneering South African entrepreneur and the founder of Imbizo Shisanyama, famously known as Busy Corner. Starting in 1997, she transformed a small container-based braai spot in Ivory Park into one of the country’s most celebrated township dining experiences. Driven by a vision to formalise and elevate township cuisine, MaZwane created a premium shisanyama brand rooted in cleanliness, culture and quality service. Her innovation helped redefine township hospitality, proving that world-class businesses can thrive in informal communities.

Beyond business, she is an author, mentor and advocate for township entrepreneurship, using her story to inspire others to conquer the "poverty of the mind." Today, through her MaZwane Foundation and mentorship work, she continues to empower emerging entrepreneurs while championing the economic potential of townships.

MaZwane Social Media

Fb: Rita MaZwane

Instagram: @therealmazwane

LinkedIn: Rita Zwane (MaZwane)

Imbizo Shisanyama Social Media

Fb: Busy Corner Imbizo Shisanyama

Instagram: @busycorneris

X: @BusyCornerIS

About the podcast:

Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers.

For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us:

E: [email protected]

T: 011 572 1033

GG Alcock, the founder of Kasinomics. GG Alcock was born in Msinga, then one of the most poverty stricken and violent parts of KwaZulu-Natal. GG’s activist parents, Neil and Creina Alcock, raised their two sons in a mud hut with no running water, electricity or modern conveniences and they grew up like young Zulu boys. Zulu reared and bred, the boys learnt the essence of how to survive in a harsh world – valuable skills that have undoubtedly contributed to GG’s success as an entrepreneur.

GG considers himself an Economic Activist, excavating the silence and opening eyes to the invisible economies of our cities, kasi’s and rural homelands. He advocates for government and formal business sector recognition, support, empowerment and consideration of the informal economy and the kasipreneurs who represent the future for our economic growth.

Kasinomics Social Media:

FB: Kasinomics X: @GGAlcock

About the podcast:

Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers.

For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us:

E: [email protected]

T: 011 572 1033

#KasiBusinessPodcast 

#JoinUsForTEA

Tom Mkhwanazi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Wholesale & Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA), a position he has held since February 2019.

With over 33 years of public sector experience, including 15 years in strategic leadership, Mkhwanazi has also served on various boards and councils. His academic achievements include a BA Honours, an HDE, and multiple postgraduate diplomas and certificates in Public Management, Labour Law, and Corporate Law. His leadership expertise spans education, skills development, and pension fund law.

Wholesale & Retail SETA Social Media:

IG: @w_rseta

FB: Wholesale and Retail SETA

X: @WRSETA

About the podcast:

Kasi Business Podcast is powered by TEA. A weekly business podcast that seeks to unlocking opportunities and practical resource tools to start and grow your business. We also profile corporate leaders, legendary black business leaders, industry practitioners and entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is an awarded entrepreneur, business speaker and author. This podcast is aimed at unlocking opportunities and practical skills for micro-enterprises, start up, small businesses while sharing insight with professionals and policy makers.

For guest enquiries and partnerships, get in touch with us:

E: [email protected]

T: 011 572 1033

Madoda Khuzwayo is the founder and CEO of APPTO, a South African based on-demand shopping delivery app currently focusing on liquor delivery through its own liquor dark stores. The app is available on Android, iOS and Huawei app stores and is free to download.

Madoda Khuzwayo is a South African born serial tech entrepreneur with an enduring passion for eCommerce.  This highly regarded and recognised futurist, fell in love with the Internet at an early age, instantly realising the infinite possibilities it can generate for commercial use and social change.

Madoda is undoubtedly part of a new breed of tech entrepreneurs currently enlightening the African business landscape. His remarkable journey from humble beginnings to a seat at the boardroom table is inspirational and a testament to hard work, an ethical mindset, and a visionary viewpoint.  Madoda regularly makes the list of Fast Company South Africa’s Top 50 most creative people in Business.

Madoda initially studied Electrical Engineering at Vaal University of Technology in South Africa, and after graduation he relocated to the United Kingdom to study Information Systems & eCommerce at Westminster College of Computing in London, and SQL College in Bangalore, India.

His journey in the liquor industry started in 2006 when he won the SAB Kickstart Business Plan competition and had an opportunity to become a Service Provider to SAB and 10 years later he became the Face of Rémy Martin One Life Live Them campaign. Now with his new liquor dark stores, he is looking to transform the way consumers shop for liquor.

Please see Madoda’s LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/madodakhuzwayo/

Podcast Bio

Small BUSINESS Podcast is a podcast powered by TEA and it is a weekly podcast featuring industry practitioners who are in the entrepreneurial development space and individuals/brands who's goal is to empower small business. The podcast is hosted by Bulelani Balabala who is the founder of TEA. He is an entrepreneur and business speaker. www.bulelani.co.za

This podcast is aimed at entrepreneurs, startups, ESD practitioners, PR & Marketing personnel, Funding institutions and all small business development agencies. You will get information, interviews, opportunities and linkages.

Join the TEA community: https://linktr.ee/JoinUsForTEA