AMANDA DAMBUZA: SOUTH AFRICAN ENTREPRENEUR RAKES IN SUCCESS
Amanda Dambuza is an inspiring South African entrepreneur who has become a symbol of success through her stewardship of her company, Uyandiswa.
Amanda Dambuza is a South African businesswoman whose achievements and business journey started at the tender age of 23, and have since catapulted her into the limelight where she’s been able to share her drive, insight, and leadership ability with industry around the globe.
A seasoned entrepreneur, Amanda was named in the Top 30 Women You Need To Know And Applaud by Leadership Magazine – a deserving accolade. In addition to being a University of Witwatersrand and Duke Corporate Education graduate, Amanda’s work as both an author and an awarded gender pioneer has seen her facilitate leadership development work and keynote addresses with a number of large corporates including Discovery Vitality Life UK, Unilever, Nampak, and several of South Africa’s largest banks.
Amanda is an experienced IT professional, who has held various senior leadership roles at large corporates. Today, she’s the founder and CEO of Uyandiswa – a project management and risk consultancy.
“I had a really tough upbringing. I grew up without parents, and with extended family – it was a really difficult environment; there was no nurture, no protection. Knowing that my parents weren’t there to look after me, nurture or protect me meant I had to find a way to be relevant.”
For Amanda, a harsh upbringing planted seeds of success that would later blossom and grow.
“I was always at the forefront of the hard work and doing all the things that no-one wanted to do. I had to rely on myself and dig deep – I had to jump over knowing that there was no-one coming to rescue me. I was inspired to become an entrepreneur because I wanted to make a difference in my nation.”
“I was always at the forefront of the hard work and doing all the things that no-one wanted to do. I had to rely on myself and dig deep – I had to jump over knowing that there was no-one coming to rescue me. I was inspired to become an entrepreneur because I wanted to make a difference in my nation.”
Amanda’s resilience and tenacity have served her well in her professional career – where she’s been awarded many accolades – including a recent nomination as one of the top 50 women through Inspiring Fifty an initiative in cooperation with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the most inspiring South African women in the technology and innovation sectors.
Under Amanda’s leadership, Uyandiswa leads project management, risk and liquidity management, business analytics and organisational effectiveness across all major South African industries. With her colleague Wessel Pretorius, Amanda is serious about effecting positive change across South African workspaces and grooming the next generation of our country’s leadership.
“We do a lot of talent identification at organisations as well, and handhold new executives. I’m really passionate about mentoring because that’s another form of education – in fact, that’s really my purpose in life”, says Amanda.
Speaking on her personal life goals, Amanda is clear and steadfast. “My philosophy in life is to just keep pushing, be determined to succeed and to touch everything as if you are never going to have another chance again. I always strive to excellence, and I always strive for a lasting impact”, she concludes.
