Business with a feminine touch under discussion
MELROSE – The monthly event hosted by author Ntsikelelo Mzibomvu encourages discussion about topical issues and what is needed to drive change.
Visual artist Nompumelelo Ngoma and businesswoman Nnyane Rantlhaku shared stories of their career journeys with community members at Starbucks in Melrose Arch on 7 August in celebration of Women’s Month.
Conversations over coffee and art is a free event which takes place on the first Wednesday of every month, hosted by author Ntsikelelo Mzibomvu, which seeks to establish a community of like-minded people to give social commentary about the need to drive change. Each session features a guest artist and a guest speaker to discuss a topical issue.
Mzibomvu opened the discussion by celebrating women. “Our wealth lies in women,” she said. “Women are the bedrock of society.”
Ngoma then discussed her journey to become a visual artist and the struggles of doing art as a full-time job. “There are a few constraints on women in the industry. Women generally cannot live in their studios because they have other responsibilities and family at home. Women artists also face exclusion from the industry, which is male-dominated. Sometimes there are still questions like ‘Can a woman sculpt?'” said Ngoma.
“My passion for art has pulled me through the struggles of this roller-coaster ride. I want to encourage other female artists to be resilient and persevere while you wait for your voice to be heard.”
She also displayed her painting entitled Ausi, which celebrates femininity and domesticity.
Rantlhaku discussed her journey to open her food testing laboratory RannSA Lab in Centurion. Rantlhaku is a food scientist who describes herself as a ‘doctor of food’. Her work involves testing food for human consumption and sharing nutritional information with the public. After finding her previous work in a lab boring, Rantlhaku decided to take a leap of faith and open her own food testing laboratory, which is the first black-owned food testing lab in South Africa.
“I didn’t know anything about business but wanted to close the gap so that clients wouldn’t need to wait for the results before their products go on the shelves,” said Rantlhaku. She added that she hoped to assist women selling vetkoeks on street corners to have their food tested and certified so they could sell their products to a larger market.
“It’s time to disrupt the norm and encourage women to own businesses.”
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