Wendy Yvonne Nomathemba Luhabe (born 29 May 1957) is a South African entrepreneur.

Life and career

Luhabe was born in

Daveyton Daveyton is a township in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality of Gauteng in South Africa. It borders Etwatwa to the north-east, Springs to the south and Benoni to the south-west. The nearest town is Benoni, which is approximately 18 kilome ...

, Gauteng, South Africa, and grew up in the old Benoni location. She graduated in arts from the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

(1977) and in Commerce from the

National University of Lesotho The National University of Lesotho, the main and oldest university in Lesotho, is located in Roma, southeast of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The Roma valley is broad and is surrounded by a barrier of rugged mountains which provides magnifi ...

(1981). After 10 years of national and international corporate experience with f.e. BMW she founded Bridging the Gap in 1991, a consulting firm to prepare young black South Africans to enter the world of work and to support South African companies in integrating those people into their corporate business. Luhabe founded the Women Investment Holdings in 1993: initiating the participation of women in the economic landscape of South Africa. She launched the first fund to provide capital to women-owned businesses in South Africa with an R120 million private equity fund. In 1999 she was recognised as one of the 50 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World. The

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in Switzerland recognised her as a Global Leader of Tomorrow. She was inaugurated as a Chancellor of the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Te ...

in 2006. She was appointed Honorary

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(LVO) in the 2014 New Year Honours for her services as a trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation. 2020 Forbes listed her as one of ''Africas 50 most powerful women''. She is married to the former premier of

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

Mbhazima Shilowa Mbhazima Samuel (Sam) Shilowa, correct Tsonga spelling "Xilowa" (born 30 April 1958) is a South African politician. A former Premier of Gauteng province while a member of the African National Congress, Shilowa left the party to help form the op ...

, they have 4 children and a grandson.

Publication

* ''Defining moments.''

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

, 2002,

References

External links

Wendy Luhabe's LinkedIn Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luhabe, Wendy Living people 1957 births 21st-century South African businesswomen 21st-century South African businesspeople 20th-century South African businesswomen 20th-century South African businesspeople Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order