(8 Amazing and stimulating quotes & stories of Wendy Luhabe)

A respected businesswoman, entrepreneur, board director, and free thinker, Founder, and Chairman – of Women Private Equity Fund,  South Africa, as well as women Investment Portfolio Holdings (Withhold)

WENDY LUHABE PERSONAL LIFE.

Contributed and compiled by Edgardo K. Welelo, Master of the Game and Founder & CEO of Udzungwa Mountains College Students Club of Entrepreneurship (UMCSCE) 30th April 2022.

LEARNING QUOTES & LESSONS FROM WENDY LUHABE.

  1. “To be a mentor is a position of privilege and honor, it means someone trusts me enough to allow me to guide them. Sometimes people just need someone who believes in them, who can inspire them and encourage them to be the best they can be. Ultimately we all suffer from self – doubt and others tend to see something in us that we are often not able to see,” – Wendy Luhabe.
  2. “In corporations, where people who have been exposed the most – generally white males get the most exposure at corporations, but when black people, black women, and white women are exposed to the same opportunities or even projects that white males are, they develop much quicker,” – Wendy Luhabe.
  3. “When people look at what we have achieved as women, then they (people) begin to believe that there are possibilities for their own lives. I (Wendy Luhabe) think we should not underestimate how effective role modeling is. When Obama became president, can you imagine what it did for black everywhere, not just in America? So there is enormous power in when people who have been previously disadvantaged and who have not had access to certain positions assume those positions.’ – Wendy Luhabe.
  4. “If people find me (Wendy Luhabe) the honor of mentoring them and guiding their lives, I have a duty to respond to that,”- Wendy Luhabe.
  5. “My philosophy (Wendy Luhabe) is to be involved in things where I (Wendy Luhabe) feel that my contribution is valued, “ – Wendy Luhabe.
  6. “We need to define it ourselves, rather than wait for others to define it on our behalf. Maybe we should ask ourselves what we see as the potential of the continent and where we want to take it. You know visionary leaders who really have what it takes and who have the courage to take Africa to where it really deserves to be” – Wendy Luhabe.
  7. “It is not every industry that is attractive to women and it is not every industry that wants to work with women. So I (Wendy Luhabe) think we should accept that opportunities exist for women and that women can choose what they want to study, which was not the case when I (Wendy Luhabe) was at university, there were very limited options for women. And women can choose what professions they want to pursue, so we shouldn’t use the fact that women are not in those positions as a failure. Maybe women are just not interested. I am sure there are instances where women are not rising through the ranks, but we are changing attitudes and stereotypes that have been around for many, many generations. It will take a while but women themselves have to believe that they can do a good job if not a better job and whether they want to do it. When they (women) want to be in these positions, I (Wendy Luhabe) think the opportunities are there for them” – Wendy Luhabe.
  8. “My sense is to leapfrog the economy of the country in terms of growth, and in terms of creating opportunities for future generations to particulate; we actually don’t have an option but to generate almost a revolution of entrepreneurship. It already exists, but it is not formalized, it is not properly channeled, it is not properly resourced and supported. So my very naïve view, maybe a romantic view, is that if you see what women already do in Africa, that they intuitively become entrepreneurs, I (Wendy Luhabe) always wonder how much more we could realize as a continent if there was a systematic approach” – Wendy Luhabe.

WENDY LUHABE QUICK FAST FACTS

Wendy Luhabe is a prominent South African businesswoman. Luhabe is well known for the establishment of Woman Investment Holdings in 1993 which was a stepping stone for women’s participation in South Africa’s economy. She launched a R 120 million ($ 14.7 million) private equity fund providing capital to women–owned businesses. The World Economic Forum named her one of the 50 leading women entrepreneurs of the world. With her strong financial background and education, she (Wendy Luhabe) formed the Wendy Luhabe Foundation. Funds of the Wendy Luhabe Foundation are channeled and used towards the education of disadvantaged people. Luhabe’s involvement with promoting women in business has also extended to the Cartier women’s Initiative Awards, an international business plan completion. As jury president of the sub – Saharan African panel, she (Wendy Luhabe) has been a part of the shaping of the evaluation criteria that prioritize creativity,  sustainability, and social impact. Through the initiative, Luhabe has witnessed the creative genius of hundreds of initiatives steered by women in different parts of Africa.