Lavhelesani Mainganye profiles Phumla Randela, a young woman with a desire to make the world a better place through her ventures.
Women around the world have in the past faced barriers to reaching their full economic potential, such as lack of access to education and healthcare, gender-based violence, discriminatory laws, and exclusion from the financial system.
A significant amount of change to this is evident around the globe and South Africa is not spared. We have seen an increasing number of women contributing to the economy in various sectors of the economy, and to some degree also multitasking and doing great at it.
We spoke to Phumla Randela, who is the founder and Director of Randela Wines and Lushaka Wealth Solutions.
She holds a BCom Accounting and Tax Technician certificate and is a Winemaker graduate. Phumla is a professional business accountant, she has more than 11 years of working experience in the insurance sector, corporate investment banking, mining industry, engineering industry, and manufacturing industry. She is a financial advocate and public speaker.
Her accomplishments have been recognised on a global scale, as she recently won five prestigious International Business Magazine Awards in 2023. Among her accolades are the titles of ‘Best Accounting Services Firm in South Africa’, ‘Most Inspiring Women Entrepreneur in South Africa’, ‘Best Financial Technology CEO of the Year in South Africa’, ‘Food and Beverage CEO of the Year in South Africa’, and ‘Most Premium Quality Wine Producer in South Africa’.
In 2022, Phumla was honoured as one of the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans. She also had the privilege of being a TEDx Speaker and a panelist speaker at the Africa Day Annual Meetings Assembly in 2023. Moreover, she was recognised as a positive role model for gender mainstreaming in Gauteng and received the Tourism & Hospitality Southern Africa award. Her commitment to empowering women in the community was acknowledged at the Accenture 10th Gender Mainstreaming Awards in 2022.
Interestingly, Phumla’s passion for accounting and the financial industry was ignited during her first year as a student at the University of South Africa, before she later transferred to the University of Johannesburg. In 2022, she pursued her interest in winemaking by enrolling at Stellenbosch University.
“The journey was not easy at all. I grew up in the villages and I used to walk to school. There was nothing much to look forward to, I had to motivate myself to work hard and be ambitious. I wanted to be something meaningful in life,” says Phumla.
Randela Wine
Motivated by affluence to be an entrepreneur and her love for wine, Phumla established Randela Wine during the uncertain time of the pandemic. After knocking on many vineyard doors, not knowing anyone in the wine business, and being rejected several times, Randela Wine was established. The brand focuses on selling premium quality wines.
Randela Wine is a 100% black-owned house of red wine. They offer four ranges, namely Shiraz 2014, red blend 2019, Pinotage 202, and Sauvignon Blanc 2021. The wines are widely available during events, wine expos, and corporate events. On the retail front, the wines can be found on Takealot, Google Shopping, and Nedbank Avo online. They are also listed at Fishmonger restaurant, Saint restaurant in Sandton, and Riboville Hotel in Waterfall.
Phumla’s fearless approach continues to make it easy for her to play in the winemaking space and get accolades from vineyard owners. The wine range is increasing, and the market is receiving the brand very well.
Lushaka Wealth Solutions
Also founded during the uncertain times of the pandemic, Lushaka Wealth Solutions is an accounting firm currently rendering bookkeeping, financials, accounting processing, tax matters, and payroll services. The advice-driven accounting and tax practice assists businesses with their accounting needs.
“I strongly believe when people have the knowledge and better understanding of their financial status and financial records, it helps them make informed decisions with their finances. I grew a high curiosity for accounting with the desire to explore and better the financial industry,” she says.
This financial education advocate saw a gap where most entrepreneurs do not comply with South African Revenue Services (SARS) and their books are not done correctly. These issues always have a crippling effect on the entrepreneur when they are rendered tax non-compliant and cannot continue to do business.
While Phumla is a hard worker and a purpose-driven entrepreneur, she has not been spared the challenges relating to being an entrepreneur.
She emphatically shares that there are a lot of cold days in business in that one must work hard to stay in business and the scathing challenge of payment delays. The brighter side of being an entrepreneur is that there are a lot of opportunities in business as a young South African. As an entrepreneur you have the freedom to be anything and do anything you want, build your own empire, and make your own money.
“Throughout my journey as a young female entrepreneur, I have not faced challenges; people embrace me more when they find out that I am a woman. With so many opportunities around us, I wish to encourage women to believe in themselves and take up space,” she concludes. “My advice for aspiring young female leaders out there is that opportunities exist wherever you may be.”
Lavhelesani Mainganye is a PRISA accredited communication practitioner with considerable experience in the field.
