Brunch with the Beautiful Basetsana Kumalo

Basetsana Kumalo, known to many of us as "Bassie", says she was a bit of an introvert at school who "nobody wanted in their team"! But this natural entrepreneur didn’t let that get her down, and spent weekends making and selling sandwiches at local soccer matches to help keep the family afloat.

Besides having a head for business, Bassie's beauty saw her being crowned Miss South Africa in 1994. As Miss SA, Bassie earned the love and respect of the nation, spending much of her time involved in community upliftment projects, especially in the field of fundraising. During her reign as Miss SA, Bassie began working as a presenter on the TV programme Top Billing -  and became a 50% partner in their production company in 1995. Tswelopele’s listing on the JSE in 1999 made Basetsana Kumalo one of the youngest black women directors in South Africa.  

Bassie is director, shareholder and board member of eight major companies, including: Travel with Flair, which won the award for Best Travel Agency in 2007; Uzalile Investments, a woman-owned coal mining company that has joint-listed on both the Australian and Johannesburg stock exchanges; and a diamond-mining company. She was listed as one of the top South African personal brands in the Sunday TimesTop Brands Survey, and is currently the President of the Businesswomen's Association of South Africa.