Meet Milisa Mabinza, Equity Fund Founder Focused on Investing in Black Women-Led Start-Up Businesses
- Milisa Mabinza is a tech investment specialist who aims to address the issue of black, female-owned businesses struggling to receive seed funding
- In 2019, the Mabinza started a private equity fund that invests exclusively in black, women-led start-up companies
- Talking to Briefly News, Milisa explains that men largely saturate tech entrepreneurship spaces, and she wants to break this glass ceiling through her enterprise
- For her commitment to helping black women succeed in business, Milisa has been recognised as one of the Briefly News Women of Wonder 2022
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Milisa Mabinza is determined to see black women thrive with their start-up companies.
Source: UGC
In 2019, a few days after the passing of her father, who was a doctor and someone she was inspired by, the young woman started Khula Lula, a private equity company.
Noticing that men largely dominate the start-up space, the tech investment specialist rolled up her sleeves to address the issue and ensure more black women receive funding for their enterprises.
According to News24, Khula Lula is one of the first black female-led equity funds in South Africa aimed exclusively at investing in black women.
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For her impeccable work, in 2021, she was named on Mail & Guardian's acclaimed 200 Young South Africans list.
Pandemic makes Milisa an even better leader
In an exclusive interview with Briefly News, Milisa notes she faced many challenges with her equity fund, especially at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic:
“There was so much uncertainty, chaos and anxiety.
"From how much we didn’t know about the pandemic to the South African government's regulations and restrictions on small and medium businesses.”
But through her strategic thinking, communication and excellent leadership, she weathered every storm she encountered, with her zeal never broken.
“This pandemic was tough to get through, but it allowed me to be an empathetic leader who prioritises communication, research and adaptability.”
The equity fund founder believes men access funding much easier than women
Milisa believes men have an unfair advantage as they saturate the start-up sphere. Mabinza also thinks men have easier access to funding.
Source: UGC
Milisa, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Investment Management from the University of Johannesburg, believes there is a culture of male bias in the start-up sphere:
“There's a lack of initiative and incentive from the industry to change and offer more representation for women.
“Due to pre-existing gender composition in tech I think inherent biases exist, with those in power maintaining the gatekeeping structures we still see.
“This hinders the ability of women to succeed in the industry and limits their opportunities for mentorship, funding and sponsorship, which can lead to fostering unconscious gender biases in company culture.”
The businesswoman dreams of shattering the glass ceiling in private equity:
“The funding landscape in this country is still heavily skewed against African women-led tech start-ups.
"There have been significant strides with accelerators and incubators. However, the big money still flows towards male-led tech teams."
Milisa Mabinza is inspired by another exceptional black businesswoman - Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa
With Milisa focused on empowering young black women, it’s no surprise that a strong female businesswoman inspires her.
Mabinza remembers reading the business section of her dad's newspaper when she was a teen.
“One day, I saw an article on Phuthi Mahanyele.
“There's this box of desirability, and respectability curvy girls and women are put in in society. You get told never to stray out of that box, even in professional spaces.
“Seeing a woman who shared a body like mine taking up space and dominating in the very exclusionary financial industry set a fire inside me.”
The passionate business founder describes the characteristics she views as valuable in strong, forward-thinking South African women.
For Milisa, authenticity is so important.
“I think because of social media, aesthetics have taken over our identities, and we have become stuck in this cycle of being ‘that girl’.
“You should be a ‘girl boss’, fit every beauty standard, and always be fashionable, rich and winning.
“Change begins within ourselves, and to become a catalyst for change, I think it starts with standing as our most authentic selves.”
Milisa is truly a force to be reckoned with in her field and a woman of wonder who epitomises strength, integrity, diligence and authenticity.
Briefly News 2022 Women of Wonder aims to inspire women
Briefly News wants to celebrate the female changemakers of 2022 by honouring a few influential, inspiring women.
The team looked for women who made a success despite some tough challenges they faced in their respective sectors.
Our goal is to create inspirational content that shows our audience what the embodiment of a resilient and strong South African woman is.
Briefly News hopes to motivate other women to go beyond their limits.
If you want to participate in our next special project or like to be featured in one of Briefly News' women empowerment articles, please email contact@briefly.co.za with Women Empowerment in the subject line.
Meet woman tech entrepreneur who uses innovation to empower girls through coding and business
In a related story, Briefly News wrote about Thoko Miya, an iconic female tech entrepreneur who is the project manager at an NGO teaching coding to young girls and women.
Thoko has her hands in many pies in the fields of innovation and technology and fell in love with coding when she was a little girl.
The 29-year-old is a visionary and is doing her level best to address the issue of the under-representation of women in tech spheres.
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Source: Briefly News
