Cosmopolitan South Africa — January 2018

COSMOPOLITAN.CO.ZA JANUARY 2018 | COSMOPOLITAN 103

COMPILED BY

BUSANG SENNE

SANDISO SIBISI,

30, HAS A HOST OF

IMPRESSIVE ACCOLADES

ON HER CV. AT THE AGE

OF 26, SHE FOUNDED

BORN TO SUCCEED,

A PROGRAMME TO

EMPOWER UNEMPLOYED

YOUNG WOMEN. SHE’S

ALSO FOUNDED AN

EDTECH PLATFORM,

KHWELA, AND WORKS

AS A MANAGEMENT

CONSULTANT FOR

ACCENTURE. LEARN

FROM THIS FEMALE

POWERHOUSE HERE

Sandiso’s CV

2013 to present

Founder of Born to

Succeed, a mentorship

programmethatoffers

unemployed women

opportunities through

education, funding and

resourcestocreatetheir

own start-ups

Management consultant

at Accenture

2016

Completed the

Mandela Washington

Fellowship in the US

Represented South

Africa at the World Bank

Group Youth Summit

2016, presenting

herEdTechplatform

Khwela, a programme

that educates young

women to become

computer- and

tech-literate

2010 to 2013

Analyst at Accenture

2013 to 2015

Deputy chair of the

Association for the

Advancement of Black

Accountants in Southern

Africa bursary committee

2009

Graduated from

the University of

the Witwatersrand

with a BCom (Hons)

in Information Systems

STARTING YOUNG

CAN BE TOUGH.

Founding a start-up

when you’re young –

I began Born to Succeed

when I was 26 – has its

challenges. Often, you

struggle with funding

because of your age. The

first thing most people ask

is, ‘Where have you done

this before?’ Credentials

are a challenge at the

start, but beginnings are

such an important part of

the journey. You inevitably

will make mistakes; starting

small allows you to learn

(in private) without

making those mistakes

onalargerscalelater.

GO WHERE

NO-ONE IS GOING

ANDDOWHATNO-

ONEISDOING.

Beinganinnovator

means believing in your

‘why’ and taking risks –

doing something no-one

else is doing because you

believeinit.Speakingat

theUnitedNationswas

ahighlight,andtheWorld

Bank Group Youth Summit

was ground-breaking in

termsofmycareer.Idon’t

just want to be a leader;

IwanttobeagoodAfrican

leader who’s gone global.

PLANNING IS GOOD

• BUT DON’T PLAN
  TOO FAR AHEAD.
  Anything more than three
  years is planning too far
  ahead.Iworkona12-month
  plan–andsometimesthis
  changes after six months.
  TherolethatIhavenow
  didn’t exist five years ago,
  soifI’dtoldmyselfafew
  yearsago,‘I’mgoingto
  bethisonethingandonly
  thisonething,’I’dhave
  missed out on so many
  opportunities. Preconceived
  ideas can be limiting.

TIMING IS

EVERYTHING.

When we want things,

we want them yesterday,

and sometimes it’s not the

right time. When I applied

for the Mandela Washington

Fellowship in 2013, my

application was declined.

Three years later, I got it –

and I was ready for it! Trust

yourself and have patience

• things always work out. ■

CAREER