Meet Lerato Phakoe, Award-Winning 19-Year-Old Author & Entrepreneur Who Dreamt of Being a Writer Since Age 12

• Lerato Phakoe is the epitome of black girl magic, with the 19-year-old an entire author, businesswoman and education activist
• The inspiring woman has always been creative and has aspired to be a writer since she was 12
• Even though she is quite young, Lerato has achieved so much and heads up her own marketing company and non-profit organisation

A 19-year-old woman from Soshanguve in Gauteng is making waves with her writing talent and business skills.

Despite only matriculating in 2021, Lerato Phakoe is a successful young person with two books to her name. She also runs a non-profit organisation (NPO) and a company responsible for marketing books.

In an exclusive interview with Briefly News, the entrepreneur explains that she published her first book in 2020 when she was in Grade 11, with the work inspired by her life experiences:

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“I started writing The kindness paid with pain in Grade 9 with the aim of using my talent to communicate with the world and help many people find closure and heal from events that took place in their lives.”

Lerato noted that her first book is a young-adult fiction novel, with the other entitled, For the sake of living, which is a collection of poems.

The talented young lady reflects on the journey that led her to become an author, stating that she has loved writing since the tender age of 12:

“I have always been imaginative, but I never knew [my talent] would lead me here.

"I am an introvert and prefer spending my time alone, reading or creating events in my head."

The young author is also a skilled businesswoman

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In February 2022, Lerato started a company called Vivified Blazon, which aims to market books by self-published authors:

“I aim to help authors overcome the challenges I once faced as a self-published author.

"Some of [the challenges I assist with] involve making sales and helping them get their work out there.”

The teen’s NPO, the Lerato Phakoe Foundation, which is still in the process of being registered, focuses on helping school students:

“We aim to see equality being practised in school, [We therefore help] under-resourced learners with school uniforms, stationary and toiletries.

“After receiving our first provincial accolade, the Vita Basadi Award, we started helping our community with food parcels and donated more than 90 children’s books to a primary school in Gauteng.”

The education activist is currently taking a gap year before deciding what she would like to study at university and continues flourishing with her career:

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In addition to the Vita Basadi Award, Lerato received other prestigious accolades, including an AfriCAN Honoree Authors' Award, and recently bagged the MIA Creative Writing Literature Award in October 2022:

“I have achieved almost every goal that I had as an author. My first book made it to a library in the City of Tshwane, and on 4 November 2022, it will be used in the presence of MECs and the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture by learners for a reading competition.''

Lerato has big dreams for the future and knows that with perseverance, she can accomplish all her goals:

“My dream is to get my books in a global space and get them to the Department of Basic Education.”

The intelligent woman was also honoured in a Facebook post by Briefly News, which applauded her success.

Take a peek at the post and reactions from Facebook users:

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Meet Gail Motloung, multitalented community leader, author, publisher & Mandela Washington Fellowship alumna

In another inspiring story, Briefly News wrote about a powerhouse woman from Vaal Triangle, who is passionate about community enrichment.

Gail Motloung is an author, TV host and owns an entire publishing house. The multitalented lady is also a Mandela Washington Fellowship alumna, among many other accolades.

Talking to Briefly News, she opened up about her various passion projects and dreams for the future.

Source: Briefly News