BUSINESS mogul in the making, writer and fashionista Milisuthando Bongela is making strides internationally as one of four “millennials” in the world represented on a popular CNN business show.
Bongela, 26, will, for the next six months, be part of Richard Quest’s business show Quest Means Business, which tracks a generation of four millennials – people born in the 80s – who are ready to make their mark on the world. “I had a wonderful childhood in East London. I always dreamt of doing big things, I just had no idea it was all going to come so soon,” the former Clarendon Girls’ High School prefect said. “I’ve worked hard in various industries including fashion, music, art and media. I have always been a dreamer and a doer. I was not an “A” student but I knew what I wanted. It helps to make lists of what you want, no matter how silly it seems. You’d be surprised what comes true if you want it to.”
Bongela, who is a Rhodes University BA journalism and history graduate, said the opportunity to be featured on the show came by chance after she was approached by a friend. “My old school friend works for CNN and e-mailed me out of the blue to ask if I would be interested in being featured on a new show CNN is doing ... they interviewed me about my career and my attitude towards work and life today.... It’s all about how we [millennials] are doing things differently than our parents, and our general attitudes towards life in the 21st century. It is a wonderful opportunity,” said Bongela.
Bongela has an impressive track record – she has worked at Cosmopolitan magazine, co-owns a boutique, Mememe, with artist Doreen Southwood, writes for the Mail & Guardian, consults for Woolworths trends and online department, has a column in Destiny Magazine, is a fashion blogger, freelances for Flux Trends, a social commentary service, and has recently started a small business called Punch and Judy selling gourmet hamburgers and vodka cocktails.
The mogul and business-savvy Bongela said her life is just as she had envisaged. “I don’t go out there representing anything or anybody other than myself .... But it’s a wonderful bonus that I am from East London and that my home town and compatriots are behind me. It’s always an honour when people are rooting for you,” she said.
Set on representing Africa by disproving the notion of a “a needy, Aids-ridden and hungry continent”, Bongela admits that there is still lots more that she needs to learn on her journey in life and she hopes to inspire many others through her own personal experiences.
Courtesy of Daily Dispatch – Shanaaz Prince