The Cape Flats in Cape Town was shaped by apartheid-era forced removals and racial segregation. If you scan headlines about the area, you’ll be overwhelmed with stories about extreme violence, fuelled by gangsterism and drugs. However, the area is also home to people working to improve their communities through medicine, science, technology, and more.
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One such person is Nafi Abrahams, a young Coloured woman from Mitchells Plain who shows there’s more possible for people from the Cape Flats.
“Mitchells Plain is a community with so much talent and potential, but growing up there, there weren’t always clear examples of people who looked like us working in technology, innovation, entrepreneurship or leadership,” she says.
As chief of staff at Loop, a company that is digitising mobility and payments, Abrahams is using lessons from her community to connect people across the African technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
“For me, Loop is more than just a technology company. It is an example of what can happen when people who understand a community intimately use that understanding to build solutions for it,” she remarks on working alongside the founders of the award-winning technology business Imtiyaaz Riley and Jamie Thurston Wyngaard — who also hail from the Cape Flats.
Fresh off her inclusion in the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans 2026 in Technology and Innovation, she spoke to Bizcommunity about representation, connection, and collaboration.
How has growing up on the Cape Flats shaped your career?
Growing up on the Cape Flats shaped me in ways I probably only fully appreciate now.
It taught me resilience, resourcefulness and, most importantly, that your circumstances don’t have to determine the size of your dreams.
I was also very fortunate to have parents who pushed me to think beyond what was immediately around me.
My dad, in particular, always encouraged me to be open-minded, think broadly, explore different spaces and experiences, and never apologise for who I am.
He taught me not to allow where I come from or the circumstances I grew up in to hold me back.
I grew up tough, but I also grew up knowing that there was a bigger world out there and that I was allowed to find my place in it.
Mitchells Plain is a community with so much talent and potential. Still, growing up there, there weren’t always clear examples of people who looked like us working in technology, innovation, entrepreneurship or leadership.
That can shape what you believe is possible for yourself.
My upbringing gave me a strong sense of community, but it also taught me how to navigate different spaces without losing who I am.
Today, so much of my work involves connecting people, ideas, organisations, and opportunities across South Africa and the continent.
In many ways, I think that started at a young age: learning to be curious, to explore beyond what I knew, and to connect different worlds.
Growing up on the Cape Flats came with challenges, but it also gave me a strong foundation. It taught me to be resilient, stay grounded, and understand that where you start doesn’t have to define where you end up.
Why is it important for young Coloured people to see themselves in non-stereotypical careers?
Representation matters because sometimes you need to see someone who looks like you doing something before you can truly believe that you can do it too.
Growing up, I didn’t always see people who looked like me in the spaces I eventually found myself in.
So I understand how powerful it can be to finally see someone from your community travelling the world, working in different countries, building businesses, sitting in rooms where important decisions are made, and being recognised for their work.
I’ve had the privilege of travelling to different countries, living abroad, running an entrepreneurship school, and building a career across technology, entrepreneurship, and the broader African ecosystem.
When I look back at that journey, I realise how important it is for young people from communities like Mitchells Plain to know these opportunities aren’t reserved for people from a particular background or postcode.
I want a young person from the Cape Flats to see me and think, “She looks like me. She comes from where I come from. If she can do it, I can do it too.”
For me, that’s what representation is really about.
It’s not about telling young people that they have to leave their communities behind or become someone else to succeed.
It’s about showing them that where they come from can be part of their story, but it doesn’t have to be the limit of their story.
So many young people have incredible talent but haven’t been exposed to the possibilities beyond what they see around them. Sometimes all it takes is one person, one conversation or one opportunity to change the way they see themselves.
I want young people to know that it is possible!
You can come from Mitchells Plain, the Cape Flats or any community where opportunities may not always be visible, and still travel, build, lead, innovate and take up space on a global stage.
And when you get there, I believe you have a responsibility to reach back and make the path a little easier for the person coming behind you.
How are you creating opportunities for young people from Mitchells Plain?
I think I’m still at the beginning of that journey.
I wouldn’t say that I have created a formal programme specifically for young people in Mitchells Plain yet, but it is something I want to become much more intentional about.
Much of what I do already involves connecting people to opportunities, whether that’s by sharing information, making introductions, connecting someone to a programme, or helping someone navigate unfamiliar spaces.
I’ve realised that the networks I’ve built over the years are a form of access, and I want to use that access more deliberately to benefit young people from communities like the one I come from.
I plan to visit schools in Mitchells Plain and other communities across the Cape Flats to speak with young people about careers, entrepreneurship, technology, and the possibilities beyond what they see every day.
I want to have honest conversations with them about my own journey — including the challenges, failures and uncertainty — but also about what can become possible when you are willing to explore, take opportunities and believe in yourself.
I know how powerful it can be for a young person to have someone they can relate to come back into their community and say, “I’ve been where you are, and there is so much more that is possible.”
As my career continues to grow, I want to create more opportunities for mentorship, exposure, skills development and access to networks for young people from the Cape Flats.
I don’t want to tell young people to dream bigger; I want to help them understand how to get there and connect them with people and opportunities that can support them along the way.
For me, giving back isn’t something I want to do because it’s expected of me. It’s something I genuinely feel a responsibility towards.
I benefited from people who believed in me, encouraged me and opened my eyes to possibilities beyond my immediate environment. I want to be that person for someone else.
Ihaven’te built that formal platform yet, but I plan to do more of it.
If my story can help a young person from Mitchells Plain see beyond their circumstances and believe that they too can travel, build, lead, innovate and take up space in rooms they never imagined themselves in, then that is an opportunity worth creating.
The Mail & Guardian says your “career has been defined by connecting people with opportunity”; how important is connection to innovation in South Africa and across the continent?
I think connection is one of the most underestimated drivers of innovation.
I often joke that I’m the “ecosystem plug” — I’m usually the person who knows someone who knows someone, or who can help you figure out where to start.
But behind that is something I take very seriously: access.
Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation.
It happens when an entrepreneur with an idea meets the right investor, when a founder meets a potential partner, when someone with a problem meets someone who can solve it, or when people from completely different industries and backgrounds come together and see a problem differently.
I’ve spent much of my career moving through different parts of the entrepreneurship and technology ecosystem, and one thing I’ve learned is that Africa has incredible talent.
Often, the challenge isn’t a lack of ideas or capability; it’s that people don’t always have access to the right networks, information, opportunities or decision-makers.
That’s where I see my role. I enjoy understanding what someone is trying to achieve, what they need, and then figuring out who or what could help them get there.
Sometimes that means making an introduction. Sometimes it’s sharing an opportunity. Sometimes it’s simply telling someone, “You should be in that room.”
I’ve seen how one introduction can change the trajectory of a business or someone’s career.
A conversation can lead to funding, a partnership can open a new market, and one person believing in your idea can give you the confidence to keep going.
For me, ecosystem building is ultimately about reducing the distance between people and opportunity.
And across Africa, where there is so much talent, creativity and innovation, I think the more connected we become, the more we can build, scale and succeed together.
What are your career highlights?
When I think about my career highlights, I don’t necessarily think of them as individual awards or titles.
I think about the experiences that expanded my understanding of what was possible for me and allowed me to work with people from different countries, cultures and walks of life.
One of the biggest highlights was spending several years working at MEST in Ghana, where I had the opportunity to work within the African technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
That experience was incredibly formative. It introduced me to founders across the continent and gave me a much deeper appreciation for Africa's talent, ambition, and innovation.
I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to multiple countries and run entrepreneurship programmes and startup initiatives.
Working with entrepreneurs in different markets, cultures, and environments has probably been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.
It taught me that although our contexts may differ, many entrepreneurs worldwide are trying to solve similar problems and create better opportunities for their communities.
Living and working abroad also challenged me personally. It pushed me outside my comfort zone and taught me to adapt, build relationships, and find my place in rooms filled with people from completely different backgrounds.
More recently, being recognised by the Mail & Guardian as one of the 200 Young South Africans of 2026 in Technology and Innovation has been incredibly meaningful.
Coming from Mitchells Plain and being recognised nationally in a space that I didn’t always see people like myself represented in makes that recognition particularly special.
Being trusted to MC a Telkom Futuremakers event was another career highlight for me.
Having the opportunity to stand on that stage and contribute to a platform focused on entrepreneurship and future opportunities was a full-circle moment in many ways.
But if I had to choose one overarching highlight, it would be the career I’ve been able to build around people.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with incredible founders, investors, corporates, entrepreneurs and young people across different countries and cultures.
Those connections have shaped who I am just as much as the positions I’ve held.
Ultimately, I’m proud that my career has taken me places I once couldn’t have imagined, from Mitchells Plain to Ghana, to different parts of the world, and into rooms where I can contribute to conversations about technology, entrepreneurship and Africa’s future.
What excites you about your work at Loop?
What excites me most about working at Loop is that we are building technology around a very real, everyday problem.
Loop is working to digitise parts of South Africa’s informal transport ecosystem, particularly the minibus taxi industry, through mobility and financial technology.
We’re not building technology simply because technology is exciting; we’re thinking about how technology can work for people in an ecosystem that millions of South Africans rely on every day.
I’m particularly excited by the opportunity to work at the intersection of mobility, payments, financial inclusion, and technology, and to help build something that can have a real impact on communities.
But my work at Loop also means a lot to me for a very personal reason.
Watching Imtiyaaz Riley and Jamie Thurston Wyngaard — two people from the Cape Flats build an award-winning technology business has genuinely inspired me.
Seeing two people from a community like mine create something ambitious, build it from the ground up, and take it onto a national and African stage is powerful.
There is something special about working alongside people of colour who are building a company that understands and creates solutions for communities that look like us.
I’m fortunate to be part of that journey.
It is meaningful to see people from a similar background use their lived experience and understanding of their communities to build something that creates real value.
Working at Loop has also reinforced something I care deeply about: some of the most important innovation isn’t necessarily about creating something completely new.
Sometimes it’s about taking an existing system that millions of people rely on and making it more accessible, efficient and connected.
So for me, Loop is more than just a technology company. It is an example of what can happen when people who understand a community intimately use that understanding to build solutions for it. I’m incredibly proud to play a part in that.
How can collaboration help African technology companies thrive?
Collaboration is essential if African technology companies are going to build solutions that can scale across the continent.
Africa is not one market.
Every country has its own regulatory environment, consumer behaviour, infrastructure and challenges. No single company or organisation can solve all of those challenges alone.
We need founders collaborating, startups working with corporates, governments creating enabling environments, investors understanding African businesses, and ecosystem organisations building bridges between these stakeholders.
I also think we need to move away from the idea that collaboration means simply exchanging business cards. Real collaboration means sharing knowledge, making introductions, opening markets, sharing resources and sometimes even creating opportunities for someone else when there isn’t an immediate benefit for you.
The continent has enough opportunity for us to build together. The more connected our ecosystems become, the stronger African technology companies will be.
What are you working on right now that excites you most?
Right now, I’m excited about the opportunity to keep building at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem development.
At Loop, I’m particularly excited about the work we’re doing to deepen technology’s role in the informal transport ecosystem and make digital payments and mobility services more accessible.
There’s a huge opportunity to build technology that doesn’t just serve people who are already digitally and financially included, but also brings more people into the digital economy.
Alongside my work at Loop, I’m also continuing to build Nafi Consulting around a simple purpose: “empowering ecosystems, one connection at a time.”
A big part of that work is staying connected to the broader African startup ecosystem.
I’m fortunate to work alongside organisations such as Jozi Angels and to have engaged with initiatives including Telkom FutureMakers and SEDFA.
These experiences have given me exposure to different parts of the ecosystem, including founders, investors, investor networks, corporates and support organisations.
It has been incredibly valuable to understand how these different players connect and, importantly, what it takes to help entrepreneurs access the right opportunities and networks.
What excites me is that all these different parts of my work connect back to the same thing I’ve been passionate about throughout my career: creating access and connecting people to opportunity.
Whether that’s helping build technology for communities that have historically been underserved, discovering the next promising startup, connecting a founder to an investor, or helping someone find an opportunity they didn’t know existed, I find purpose in making those connections happen.
But on a personal level, I’m probably most excited about what comes next!
Being recognised by the Mail & Guardian is an incredible milestone, but I don’t see it as the destination.
I see it as a responsibility to keep building, keep learning and, importantly, keep opening doors for the people coming behind me.
I also want to do more with young people from communities like Mitchells Plain, including speaking at schools and sharing my journey more openly.
I want young people to see opportunities beyond what they may see around them and to know their background or postcode doesn’t have to define their future.
