Author an award-winning cultural practitioner and filmmaker Masindi Netshakhuma recently scooped The Forty under 40 Africa Award. Netshakhuma was nominated under the category of Authorship-and-creative-writing, of which she became an overall winner. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Limpopo.
Netshakhuma has been highly active in writing. She became part of the Lampstand book club in 2017. Released her first English poetry book titled Vision and Legacy in 2018. After that year she co-authored many books, including Tshanduko with Nndanduleni Jeffrey Manthakha.
In 2019, one of her poems became one of the winning poems in the Avbob Poetry Competition.
In 2020 she ventured into film, wrote her first script, and got awarded for the development of her first film by the National Film and Video Foundation.
She developed an early interest in international relations and in February 2020 she was selected as one of 32 students from the International Global Network to be a mentee in the Kelas Daring IELTS NTT 2020.
MASINDI NETSHAKHUMA A WOMAN OF TALENT
She then implemented a project Woman, My Breed to help publish stories about Gender-Based Violence for young women, which got supported by National Arts and Culture. In 2020, Netshakhuma was featured by The French Institute of South Africa and Impepho Press in the anthology History and imagining realities which were later translated into French and English.
Netshakhuma founded Small and medium-sized enterprises in 2021. She won in the Kenya-South Africa Chamber of Business’s top 20 SMEs. She also had the privilege of exhibiting her business when both presidents of South Africa and Kenya conducted a walk about the event. In 2022 she was listed among 50 Mail and Guardian Powerful women. Also in the top 100 South African Shining Stars. Masindi got an award during the Pan South African Language Board Multilingualism Awards.
She again implemented another ongoing project Unmute Women Voices in the year 2022 to help publish books written by young women on the Gender-Based Violence issue.
FORTY UNDER 40 AFRICA AWARDS
She said The Forty Under 40 Africa Awards is to identify, honour and celebrate a cross-section of the continent’s most influential and accomplished young business leaders under the age of 40
“I was nominated for the work I’ve done in the literature industry,” said Netshakhuma.
“The journey was not easy at all but I have the best mentor and family. They made sure I never lose it on the way. It was not easy as the Venda people hardly support each other. But I got more votes and support from outside countries like Kenya.
“I am still part of the Kenya-SA Chamber of Business, so they supported me a lot. I knew I was going to come back home with this one. However, I am glad to have the privilege of being selected amongst all for this award,” she explained.
“I cannot thank my parents enough for the education privilege that they have given me. Without this it would have never been possible to reach such heights and stand in front of such skilled and well-qualified people,” said Netshakhuma.
