Dudu Tsobane
I am Dudu Tsobane, a wife, mother, entrepreneur, founder of Tsobane Foundation, recording artist, singer/ songwriter, speaker, MC and former Managing Director for Beryl Group CSI division.
I am a driven young woman with a dream to be an advocate for change and poverty reduction. I strive to live a purposeful driven life. I am family oriented with a passion to develop and empower young people. I achieve this through my foundation, Tsobane Foundation, which has seen collaborations with different companies and organisations that enable me to impact more young people from all walks of life.
I grew up in the streets of Soweto raised by a single parent (my mother). Growing up was never easy, but I was always determined to make my parents proud and to become someone that would someday inspire the kids in my community. I have always been a big dreamer and a visionary. I’ve always believed I was destined for greatness. I did not have it all as a child - it was a struggle as my mom was unemployed and we had zero income in our household. I used to wear torn school shoes, and when I started getting my period, my mom could not afford to buy me sanitary pads so I used clothes as a substitute so I could go to school and not miss my classes. That made me have low self-confidence as I could not play with my friends and enjoy school on those days, but not even that [experience] could get me to lose my focus, instead it propelled me to dream bigger. I made a vow to myself that I will help as many girls who are underprivileged, so they do not have to experience what I went through as a young girl.
After I completed high school, I wanted to further my studies - that proved to be difficult, but it did not stop me from pushing and hustling. I got an opportunity to become a member of the award-winning group in Africa, Joyous Celebration. That was a dream come true! It was a world-class opportunity to pursue my career in music professionally. This opened so many doors for me as a young person. I got to perform with local and international artists in different genres and to create a name and a brand for myself as a recording artist.
Together with my husband we started our own independent recording and production company Naledi Records (named after our daughter) with me as its first recording artist and this part of the business is a great platform for upcoming recording artists as it affords them an opportunity to be signed under our label. My first album, titled “This Season”, is available on all digital platforms and on YouTube. This gives me liberty and drive as a young businesswoman to continue pursuing my dreams and to inspire more young girls in my community and the world at large.
Tell us more about Tsobane Foundation. What exactly do you do?
Tsobane Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2015. We run various projects such as I Am My Sisters’ Keeper that aims to restore dignity to underprivileged schoolgirls by supplying them with dignity packs that consist of sanitary pads, underwear, face clothes etc. During this COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation supplied food parcels and blankets to over 2000 families in Johannesburg with the aim of fighting poverty and hunger and bringing hope to our communities.
We also have a project for boys called My Brother’s Keeper. The aim of this project is to ensure that we mentor our boys at a young age [so that they can] fully understand their roles and responsibilities in the society. We believe that boys deserve the same amount… of attention as girls. This is an awareness to fight gender-based violence in our communities; when we mentor them young, they will grow up to be men who understand their responsibilities and how to treat and protect women in the world.
We have recently started a fund called Joshua Born On Time - this fund is aimed at raising funds for babies who are born preterm in underprivileged communities. This was inspired by the birth of my son, Joshua, who was born pre-term and stayed in the NICU for two months fighting for his life. He made it by the grace of God, and with his life story, we are hoping to provide help to mothers give who give birth pre-term as I know there is a lot of support required financially to keep the baby in the NICU. We believe that through the help of both the public and private sector we will be able to help through this fund.
Through the foundation, we also care for homeless people via our winter drive during the cold season to provide blankets, clothes, and food. We have partnered with one of the leading manufacturing blanket companies in SA retail space, Sesli Blankets, to give quality blankets to the destitute.
To support the Tsobane Foundation, you can make monthly or one-off donations using the options below.
Card Payment Donations: https://qkt.io/V0J2pU
International donations: https://paypal.me/MySistersKeeper2021
EFT Donations: Tsobane Foundation, FNB account - 62848884228, Branch code - 250655
Card payments donations: https://pay.yoco.com/MySistersKeeper
Tell us a bit about your co-founder.
My co-founder is my husband of 10 years, Thabiso Tsobane, a mentor and entrepreneur. Together, we have been championing this foundation with the hope of bettering and impacting our communities. It is a breeze building together with him as we have the same goal and dream of serving and helping the next person. Our vision impacts and changes people’s lives for the better.
How have your past personal & professional experiences helped you to run your organization?
My past has helped me a lot, to be able to recognize a need and to be able to act by giving a helping hand. Professionally, I had an experience as a managing director at an organization that I worked for, setting strategies and giving mentorship/leadership to the young people in different leadership roles and business - that has helped as well.
What is the biggest personal / professional challenge you've had to overcome?
I think the biggest challenge would be giving birth to my pre-term baby boy Joshua. Having to go home and leave him behind, I was not able to hold him for months as he was too small; he had to be in an incubator all the time under serious watch. This forced me to be strong in my faith in the Lord and it also strengthened my relationship with my husband as we had to overcome this together as a team and still be present parents to our firstborn daughter Naledi.
What was your mission at the outset? Why are you #LivingForChange?
For me, it’s about impact and changing people's lives in underprivileged communities; to build and mentor both young boys and girls to see them fully become.
What's your definition of success? Do you consider yourself a success?
My definition of success is to be able to live in your purpose and yes, I do consider myself as successful and I am living in my purpose. I live a life that is not selfish [and I] always want to see the next person win and make better choices for their future. I believe I am constantly becoming and learning daily. God is raising me up to live fully in my purpose.
Have the women around you helped you to rise? How?
Yes, my mom, aunts, friends, neighbours, mother-in-law, pastors, business partners, leading women in the marketplace, and other women who inspire me, be it on TV and social media, even those I do not know personally. Their journeys of love and support help me become and be consistent in all I do.
What are some of your future plans? Are you working on anything else right now?
I’m working on my business as an entrepreneur. I am constantly looking for opportunities to make an income. I recently started an interior design solutions company called Lorie Solutions. I am also great with communications, planning and organizing events. I am looking into serving on different boards as a director or trustee. I believe, in the end, all my steps are ordered by the Lord - as we make plans, He has the final plan for our lives.
What advice would you give to a woman starting out in your industry or starting her own company/organization?
It is important to know your worth and create your own table if no seat is offered to you. Collaboration is key - work with other women and support them because there is so much power in that. Get knowledge about your industry, upskill yourself, and always remember why you started.
Describe yourself in ONE word. Driven
Complete this sentence: "To be a girl or woman today is..." to be powerful.
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