AT only 31 years old, this local entrepreneur has already made an incredible mark in the corporate industry, especially after being the youngest female boxing promoter in South Africa in a male-dominated sport when she started her first business at just 22 years old.
Today, Andiswa Madikane not only has TT Boxing Promotions behind her name, that also made her only the second female to do this in the country, but she has also worked extensively in the legal field as a legal advisor.
This led to her recently starting another company, Dikane Consulting and Events, which provides legal advice, business consultancy and life coaching services.
She also co-owns a coffee shop called Café Mendio.
To add to her list of achievements, Madikane was nominated as best newcomer at the Nelson Mandela Bay Business and Events Awards and her company has also been named as a finalist at the same awards.
Although she has numerous achievements, Madikane believes that one should not focus on oneself but try to do things for the benefit of others; that is why she is focusing on helping to improve township economies.
“My vision is to not only succeed as a company alone, but I would also like to form part of the entrepreneurs that were able to grow the economy in the Bay and to do that, supporting township economy is one of the ways in which we can balance out our economy,” she said.
Describing herself as ambitious, Madikane believes in the power of hard work and building valuable networks and mentioned that her parents were her inspiration for getting into the corporate industry.
“I was inspired by them when I started my boxing promotions company in 2013. I did not have much information about running a business but later learnt through seeing how they ran the businesses,” she said.
Touching on the challenges that she has faced as a businesswoman, she mentions being a woman in the business industry as a key challenge.
“There has been a lack of faith from men that I can actually run a business successfully and this affected me a lot when I was in the boxing industry. I think that this was largely based on the fact that the boxing industry has always been male-dominated.”
However, along with the challenges came a lot of highlights too.
“I have grown personally as a brand and also as Dikane Consulting. My highlights started since last year in August when I held the very first cooperate Women In Business Event in Motherwell at a Bistro called the Pallet Dr. This was a quest to grow the township economy and create a culture of networking in the township,” she said.
“I feel truly proud. Proud of myself that I started something and was able to maintain and expand my brand. I also feel proud of myself for never giving up even in the hardest of times during my entrepreneurial journey,” she added.
Her advice for other entrepreneurs is to practise courage.
“Stand firm for what you believe in and work hard and smart in ensuring that you achieve it, and you will never go wrong. Collaboration and stakeholder building relationships are also key in the business industry,” Madikane concluded.
