Telkom’s Keneilwe Gwabeni. Photo: Karolina Komendera

Keneilwe Gwabeni’s story is proof that, with hard work, determination and resilience, you can go far. “Growing up, for me to get anything, I had to put in a lot of effort. Before I could make food, I had to make fire, and before I could make fire, I had to walk around and find something to make fire with, whether that was wood or even dry cow dung. That’s what built my character; I know nothing comes easy, but it’s where my work ethic and resourcefulness came from.”

Born into a family of nine children and the daughter of a policeman-cum-farmer, Gwabeni’s early years were spent in a dusty rural village outside Mafikeng. There was no electricity, she remembers, and getting water required a long walk with a wheelbarrow and containers. Today, she’s CIO of Telkom’s Consumer and Small Business unit, and was recently recognised by knowledge-sharing platform HotTopics.ht as one of the top 100 CIOs globally. She believes those early experiences have been key to her success.