Zandile Nkalai: Taking it Beyond Empowerment

"Make sure that you are ready... mentally, physically, emotionally. Be prepared to work hard and be patient, keep evolving, know your market and also be kind. You can achieve anything if you believe in yourself and your capabilities. Be FEARLESS in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire!"

In a nut shell, what you just read, was a great summary of what it takes to become an entrepreneur from Zandile Nkalai, who runs a successful entrepreneur skills development platform - Wealth Forum Africa. What's amazing about her company, is that it pays special attention to a particular niche:

"We are very back to basics, our target market is an almost excluded group of people; rural entrepreneurs, remote township entrepreneurs, people who may not know how to read/write but do run businesses and need guidance. Therefore we are relatable, we speak the local language and we understand the challenges on the ground. We are PASSION-DRIVEN so we don't mind going the extra mile, hour or dime to help impact our clients businesses, we want them to know what a vital role their concepts play in our economy as Africa, and how together we can move it forward."

Be FEARLESS in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire!

"Our mandate, is to play our part in improving the success rate of small businesses and eradicate their failure, by giving entrepreneurs tools to develop and grow their businesses and contribute to the growth of the African economy. We are inspired by the vision of a renewed Africa, where poverty is a thing of the past and small businesses can thrive and be able to compete on a global platform. Wealth Forum Africa is a hybrid model which consists of :

1. Wealth Forum Academy

2. Wealth Forum Conferencing

3. Wealth Forum Accountancy "

Backed by a team of 12 diverse individuals who share a common vision and are closely knit together by their passion for Africa, Wealth Forum Africa has grown from strength to strength. Each time, they successfully deliver key skills, transformative information and empower business owners to take their models to the next level.

"As a business we have hosted over 20 successful high impact seminars, we have trained 80 entrepreneurs successfully and through our programs and outreaches have inspired many people. We have grown economically but most importantly we have been able to build concrete sustainable business partnerships to be able to expand our social impact mission and continue to help transform and elevate small businesses. We have plans to continue to grow and expand our areas of service and to build a global community of entrepreneurs that can collaborate, engage and work with each other and create better solutions. We want to have our training facilities in more African countries whilst collaborating with governments and corporates to help improve the success rate and sustainability of small businesses in Africa."

But with every great feat comes challenges. Undoubtedly. No one is exempt from obstacles. But once you push through it, success is inevitable.

Zandile says, "Challenges... ours has not only been funding, it has been language barriers, getting people to trust us and open up to us, that challenge was overcome sincerely by time. The more our profile and experience grew, the more people trusted us, the more referrals we got and the more publicity and credibility we got. We have so many success stories, most of those lie in the success of the entrepreneurs and businesses that have gone through our training and are now running sustainable businesses."

She has found her happy place in teaching, skills development and training. Not only does she host amazing events but she has been invited to speak and participate at various government & private events including Forbes Africa Leading Women Summit

and the African Diaspora Network. "I enjoy contributing to someones business through different lenses such as advisory, strategy or impact. I love getting to hear about different business models and creating solutions where it seems almost impossible. I enjoy story telling and I enjoy learning. I enjoy being part of the solution or part of hope, hard work and tangible results. All the hard work didn't go unnoticed and created an opportunity, to be selected as one of the top 25 individuals to participate in the 2018 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum accelerator program, which is hosted in partnership with Nedbank.

Wait. The story only gets better. Not only is she walking these streets of entrepreneurship, she is backing it up on the academic front by studying her MBA at the prestigious GIBS Schools of Business in South Africa. Balancing these commitments is no small joke, but Zandile shows that it can be done.

"As a person I have grown so much academically, in business, with experience and I've also been very privileged to work with and build a network of very influential and impactful people. My leadership capabilities have indeed also grown and as a thought leader, I have become more open minded, bold and able to expand in my thinking and knowledge sharing."

"I was raised by entrepreneurs, that raised me in a business driven environment so it has always been my passion. But, I am driven by the purpose to empower others, to make a difference in their lives and create sustainability for others. From my personal story, there are many life lessons, but I want people to know that perseverance, passion and working hard can go a long way."

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Website: www.wealthforum.co.za