Today we are totally crushing on these two beautiful female creatives from Southern Africa who have been part of groundbreaking initiatives. Their drive and determination is inspiring. Allow them to inspire you too!
Khanyi Dlomo
Image Credit: destinyconnect.com
From humble beginnings as a newscaster at SABC and running errands at True Love Magazine to being a force to reckon with in the Media industry, Khanyi Dlomo is a true testament of resilience and determination.
At the age of 22 she became the Editor of True Love magazine , which she led for 8 years resulting in it being the most read women’s magazine in South Africa. She left the publication in 2003 and moved to Paris where she worked at the South African Tourism Board. Khanyi graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA and returned to South Africa to found Ndalo Media in parternship with Naspers.
Ndalo Media birthed Destiny Magazine which had its online extension DestinyConnect.com launched in 2008. With this huge leap she has grew this year to successfully gain the contract to publish and distribute Elle South Africa. Power Woman. Power Moves.
Jackie Mgido
Image Credit: She Leads Africa
Her parents wanted her to go to college and become a vet but her love for makeup was too strong. When she moved to the USA in 1995 she enrolled to study Make Up Designery (MUD) and naturally, she was game.
She then rose in the ranks of the make up artist community, joining the Hollywood community. She managed working with prolific stars like Sylvester Stallone, John Legend, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Denzel Washington and the list is endless. She has positioned herself as a leader in the market, not just in Africa, but in the United States too.
In September 2012 she launched Vault Cometics in the midst of an unstable economy, which two years letter got a co-sign from Dillish Mathews, the winner of Big Brother The Chase. Dillish went on to release her own range in the Vault Cosmetics line. Vault has risen to become one of the biggest indigenous make up line not only in Zimbabwe, but also the whole of Southern Africa and the world at large.
In March 2016, Canadian media Huffington Post Style, Editor’s pick, chose Vault Lipstain. Monika Markovinovic, wrote,
I can confidently say I have found my new go-to lipstick. Well, it’s actually not a lipstick, it’s a lipstain. And it hails from Africa. From an array of different coloured lipstains, I chose a burgundy, brownish-red colour called Harare. But I didn’t apply it right away. Instead, I watched other editors in the office swipe their chosen colours across their pouts and shriek in delight at the results. The colours were vibrant and bold, all the things you would want in a lip product.
