Bonang Matheba and Leanne Manas share their business secrets at this year's East Coast Radio #WomenUnlocked business webinar

The inspiring and power-packed lineup saw two of South Africa’s prominent female business leaders and media moguls, Bonang Matheba and Leanne Manas, head up a panel discussion alongside industry great, Vusi Thembekwayo.

Excitement filled the chat box when Matheba unmuted her microphone. This fabulously multifaceted woman shared pivotal learnings on how to unlock your full potential during the uncertainty of Covid-19.

“Have a plan, make sure you have a unique selling point. A story. A lot of people can vibrate through real stories. Learn and have as much fun as you can, along the way. You need to be able to adjust and adapt. Be yourself. Live your truth.”

The media industry has faced many challenges even before Covid-19 but with the pandemic came greater stumbling blocks. Manas shared insightful tips on how to flourish in an uncertain space and find a good balance between life and work.

“The reality is, we need to have multiple streams of income. Never let a good crisis go to waste. Find the gap you know and fill it.

“As a mother, you have to sacrifice a lot, but I hope that this is a lesson that my kids will learn. The time we spend together, we really bask in each other and, man, do I get showered with love.”

Attendees were also treated to a keynote address by one of SA’s most powerful and influential business speakers as well as the youngest JSE director, Vusi Thembekwayo.

Thembekwayo shared his key points on how he thinks South Africa can best navigate through the pandemic and the importance of leadership during this time.

“This is the moment to lead. You need three things to be a leader during this time. First is courage, to have conviction in your beliefs whether it’s the popular opinion or not. Conviction; what do you believe and do you believe it? You need to be able to stand behind that belief. Character; we live in the age of personality. The pages we follow on social media are for its personality. You need to be consistent about who you are, what you want and what you want for the world. You need to be clear. We need leaders who will lead from a point of character and that means you must be willing to be unpopular and make unpopular decisions.”

East Coast Radio’s managing director, Boni Mchunu said: “This morning was absolutely insightful. The knowledge that was imparted is immeasurable. What an honour it was to share the morning in the virtual company of great business minds and to see so many women join in from across South Africa. It makes me proud to know that even though we are physically apart, by joining this webinar we were able to unlock our full potential, together.”

The ECR Women’s Business Webinar hashtag and theme for this year was #WomenUnlocked.

Visit ecr.co.za or DSTV Channel 836 for more inspiring content and hit music to help you unlock your full potential.

About East Coast Radio

East Coast Radio, a division of the Kagiso Media Ltd, is one of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading commercial radio stations. Broadcasting from Umhlanga, with an audience of over one million listeners, the station has entrenched itself into KZN people’s lives through multi platforms, on-air/FM, online and regular events. For general information, visit www.ecr.co.za.