SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS INTEGRATOR Q&A: CHARMAINE MABUZA, CEO ITHUBA (RF) (PTY) LTD

You are considered a trailblazer in many ways. You were a Director at Whiphold, the first Black female-owned investment company to list on the JSE. You are also the first Black female CEO awarded a license to operate the National Lottery.

Tell us a bit about your journey of being an entrepreneur. Was it always your vision to become and entrepreneur? What inspired you and what keeps you motivated?

I was brought up in a township by my mother, who was incredibly entrepreneurial and a trailblazer in her own right. She has always been my biggest inspiration, making a good living without any support. She is full of grit, and witnessing that first-hand has always motivated me to work for myself and pave my own path. Having achieved success, uplifting others is now my biggest motivation.

Over the years, ITHUBA has seen a plethora of changes, particularly in digitisation. Tell us a bit about the journey of ITHUBA’s evolution under your leadership.

It will be eight years in June 2023 since you took the reins as CEO of ITHUBA. What have been the major milestones?

Our first major milestone was at only two years in, where we spearheaded the move away from the traditional ball machines in 2017 and replaced that with a random number generator and digital draw show. This bold move allowed us to continue game draws during the COVID-19 lockdown period, while some Lotteries worldwide had to stop their draws due to live shows. Another big coup for us was launching the digital platform that has greatly improved the UX and allowed our players to buy tickets through their banking apps.

Under your leadership, ITHUBA attained record-breaking performance figures. What do you attribute this to?

I attribute our success to our initial commitment and mandate to reinvigorate the National Lottery. This mandate allowed us to focus on making big moves that have seen us revitalise the National Lottery and grow it immensely. ITHUBA is officially the largest National Lottery operator in Africa – and has also been recognised as one of the top five lotteries in the world during our tenure, as listed by the World Lotteries Association.

How do you foresee the growth of ITHUBA going forward – what are some of the key projects you intend on implementing?

Our key strength so far has been keeping up to date with new technologies, so many of our projects are based around keeping in check with what’s current and ensuring that our games align with our player’s needs and wants.

ITHUBA also has several CSI initiatives supported by ITHUBA, which is in addition to the funds generated towards good causes through the National Lotteries Commission. There is a lot of growth potential in Africa, and woman’s empowerment is a big driving factor for us now and going forward.

Tell us a bit about your journey of being a female entrepreneur.

What have been some of the main challenges in navigating the business world as a female?

I have had a very supportive team from the beginning, and ITHUBA is not my first attempt at leading a company, so I have some experience to back me up. Female leaders will always be under a more intense level of scrutiny than their male counterparts, so I always make sure my decisions are well-researched so I have complete confidence to make the moves I think are best.

What were some of the key lessons you have learned?

Trust your gut, trust your team and do your research. Intuition is important, but equally, so is data. Don’t allow yourself to make business decisions based on emotion - always let research lead your thinking.

According to reports, you are passionate about mentorship, particularly female empowerment. Tell us a bit about this.

I often speak about my mother as my inspiration, and she has fuelled me to start different initiatives at ITHUBA. We have a female retailer empowerment programme, as well as Scholarship and graduate programmes, which all entail a portion of counselling and mentorship. I believe in the power of strong partnerships, so professional coaching is essential to us at ITHUBA.

You have been the recipient of numerous awards recognising your achievements in the business world as well as from a philanthropy perspective.

What is your definition of success?

Success means different things to different people, but for me, success is empowering those around you. I have empowered many students and entrepreneurs over the years to make lasting changes through education and opportunity. Paying it forward to me is the true mark of success.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of ITHUBA for becoming the leading operator in Africa and receiving the Top Empowered Company Award. Those are two achievements that stand out to me.

Considering your background and your success, what advice would you share with aspiring entrepreneurs?

Look for the type of work colleagues you aspire to be like, approach them and ask them to mentor you. If they are incredibly busy, ask for a chance to shadow them. Most leaders are impressed by selfmotivated people.

ITHUBA is well-known for investing heavily in SED and ESD initiatives. What is your personal belief regarding the responsibility of leaders/ businesses to pay it forward?

For South Africa to become a more equal society, we all need to continue to contribute to opportunity. Corporate citizens have a big responsibility, as the disparity and poverty in our community is alarming.

What are the areas in terms of socio-economic development and enterprise and supplier development that you are most passionate about, and why?

I am interested in funding small businesses that serve the communities they are based in. When you uplift small businesses and entrepreneurs, the positive knock-on effect is that the entire community benefits from job creation or better local resources.

Considering the realities facing South Africans, i.e. high unemployment rates, load shedding etc., what is your advice to the private sector on balancing profits with socio-economic investment, skills training and development?

We need to examine our CSI portfolio and ensure that we are actually delivering help that’s necessary and valuable in the long term. For example, a food drop can help a community in the short-term, but clean water resources will serve them better in the long run, or the ability to nurture their own vegetable gardens and feed themselves. I think there needs to be a level of empowerment that we extend with CSI efforts. Not simply a hand-out but rather a hands-up.

Tell us about your thoughts on leadership.

Leadership is often celebrated, but it’s also much responsibility. What constitutes a leader, and what three key traits do you believe are required to be an efficient/successful leader?

The 3 key characteristics are humility, self-awareness and determination.

In an ever-changing landscape, how do you, as a leader, ensure that you keep your business at the forefront of change?

It would be best if you had a dedicated team whose goal is to keep tabs on market movements, technology and innovation. You must continually see how you can evolve to work the most from your team.

Charmaine Mabuza is the CEO of ITHUBA and former co-founder of Zamani Holdings. With Mabuza at the helm, ITHUBA has reached great success over the past eight years of operations, and she is widely celebrated not just for her business acumen but for her philanthropic ventures and work in female empowerment.

ITHUBA was awarded their operating license in June 2015, and as the third operator in South Africa, they have successfully revived the National Lottery’s operations in less than a decade. They are recognised as the leading Operator in Africa and one of the top five lotteries worldwide.