Mosh Matsena shares her vision for the future

Mosh Matsena, founder of 1Africa

Founder and CEO of 1Africa Consultancy, she is committed to integrating her passion for social impact with successful business growth strategies – both for her own consultancy as well as client brands.

According to Matsena, societal impact and business goals are not mutually exclusive - but instead, it’s about developing solutions that drive both objectives successfully. “I strongly believe that corporate citizenship should be a standard component of business strategies as part of a brand’s fourth bottom line - purpose,” she said.

She tells us more about her journey and visions for the future…

You have an impressive career within the media and communications industry spanning over two decades. Tell us a bit about your journey?

I started as a trainee journalist at the SABC Channel Africa, after a short stint as a Passenger Handling Agent at SAA. During my career at the SABC, I held numerous positions in the newsroom. An exciting part of my responsibilities was recruiting and managing correspondents from around the continent, as well as being part of the stakeholder management team. The radio station had a variety of stakeholders (including different international organisations, broadcasters across Africa, Embassies in South Africa and Africa; and so forth).

I also had the opportunity to travel to many African countries and abroad to cover stories, mainly those with an African perspective.

After many wonderful years at the SABC, I took a bold step to leave the mainstream media field and start my own company. It was a bittersweet decision to leave the organisation and venture into the broader communications landscape, but launching my agency has been a rewarding and exciting step, and I am very optimistic about the future.

How do you impart the belief to the youth, and help support their education and skills development?

I am passionate about uplifting and supporting the youth in South Africa, and I believe in knowledge-share and practical skills development. I am involved in mentoring and coaching programmes aimed at uplifting and empowering youth in South Africa.

During my time at the SABC, I was responsible for managing our station’s internship programme. I was a mentor to many well-known TV and Radio presenters. It makes me very proud knowing that most of them are doing quite well today, and I still keep in touch with many of them. I am also a part-time Media Studies facilitator at the National Electronics Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA).

 You mentioned the launch of your new business, 1Africa Consulting. Tell us a bit more about this new venture?

Communication and business landscapes are changing rapidly, and there is a need to do business differently in a way that not only meets but exceeds these new and evolving expectations.

1Africa Consulting is a full-service business and communication consultancy that practices doing business differently, by integrating innovation, agility, creativity; and a very hands-on approach, to create unique solutions for each client. Our clients view us as an extension of their team, rather than a service provider, which is something that we are very proud of.

How do you merge your personal passion for corporate citizenship with your current business pursuits?

Under the 1Africa Consulting umbrella, we have established a division called the 1Africa Foundation. This division focuses on creating and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with communities throughout South Africa through social impact initiatives.

We believe that businesses should not operate in isolation from the communities they operate within. Instead, we should continually consider ways in which we can positively contribute to society while still adhering to business needs – it’s all about “doing good for society while doing good for business”.

What are some of the initiatives that the 1Africa Foundation is currently involved in on behalf of 1Africa Consulting?

A current initiative is our partnership with Dear Bella, a sanitary towel manufacturer that aims to produce quality, affordable personal sanitary products for young girls across South Africa. We are part of the ‘Dear Bella Guardian Angel’ programme that sponsors monthly sanitary products to young girls, allowing them to continue with their lives and goals with one less thing to worry about. We have pledged to support 100 girls every month from August this year, and hope to increase this as time goes on.

As communicators, we also believe in educating communities through storytelling and edutainment. We help raise awareness for and educate people on social ills and challenges through visual content, such as local documentaries. We have partnered with Prosperita Productions and director/producer Keabetswe Mokoena, to create documentaries that tackle issues facing communities in South Africa.