Khanyi Dhlomo

During my long December vacation, while I was cleaning out my garage (yes, I was that bored), I found an old magazine that dated way back to ’93. I was surprised to find it somewhat entertaining, particularly the fashion which was, well… interesting. I’m talking about purple cardigans with shoulder pads; you know, similar to the one your mother refuses to throw away to this day! As I paged through the magazine, I recognised the famous face of Khanyi Dhlomo featured in an advertisement (and yes, she was wearing the purple cardigan!). Not only is Khanyi drop-dead gorgeous, intelligent, graceful, and always exuding independence, she is one of the many success stories of women who are making an impact in male-dominated industries in South Africa.

In 1993, Khanyi became one of the first black newsreaders on SABC’s Channel One. She quickly demonstrated her natural ability to work in the fast-paced, dynamic media industry as she interviewed prominent political figures such as Nelson Mandela and former president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings. At the young age of 22, Khanyi became the editor of True Love magazine, one of the first magazines to both reflect and inspire the lives of many black South African women at that time. The publication has since grown, and now boasts over 139,000 readers! Her achievements did not end there; she went on to open a lifestyle centre that held workshops for women and worked in union with the magazine. Khanyi then helped in expanding the magazine over into other countries in Southern Africa, to help women everywhere to be inspired to live a life they could be proud of. And if all this wasn’t inspiring enough, she also headed up South Africa’s tourism department in France and went on to study further, completing her MBA at Harvard! This determined and amazing woman keeps on climbing higher and higher up the success ladder, inspiring many young women to do the same.

Khanyi is currently the proud owner of a truly inspiring and exciting magazine called Destiny. She is not only the chief editor of Destiny, but is also the managing director of Ndalo Media, a South African media company that has joined forces with Media24. (Note: Media24 owns and publishes some of the leading newspapers and magazines in SA.)

I hope that each of your lives is reflective of the perseverance and ambition you all have to succeed. And lastly, let us pay homage to the lives of the many successful women in South Africa and all over the world – make them proud!