Mvula

There was a time when love came on a TDK cassette, wrapped in masking tape and scribbled promises. It didn’t arrive in your inbox or stream through curated algorithms. It clicked into your Walkman with a satisfying clunk, hissed for a second, then gave you someone’s heart, track by track, beat by beat. South Africa had its own rhythm to the mixtape. In townships and suburbs, from Cape Flats to Katlehong, the art of crafting a compilation was serious business. You weren’t just recording songs. You were telling someone who you were. That you liked TKZee, but you also had a soft spot for The Manhattans. That you could move…

South Africa is home to over 37,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), each with assets exceeding $1 million, and a growing number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) with fortunes above $30 million. Collectively, they control a significant portion of the country’s private wealth, which is estimated at around $651 billion. While mining and traditional industries have long been the backbone of wealth creation, modern investors are diversifying their portfolios to protect against economic volatility, currency depreciation, and shifting global markets. Investment strategies among South Africa’s wealthy are shaped by the need to balance risk and long-term growth. Equities remain a dominant asset class, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) providing access to major…

South Africa’s rural areas are often described in terms of their deficits, of infrastructure, employment, and opportunity. Yet behind these narratives lies a quieter story of progress, where meaningful work and community-led development are reshaping futures. Through public employment programmes, rural communities are building skills, confidence, and sustainable livelihoods. The Mvula Trust, whose work in community-based infrastructure development doesn’t just meet basic needs, it empowers people to be the architects of their own transformation. In 2025, as unemployment and inequality remain critical national concerns, such programmes offer more than short-term relief; they represent a long-term vision for inclusive, localised economic growth. Jobs That Build Communities The Expanded Public Works Programme…

The streets begin to change after ten. It’s not that the city goes quiet, it never does, but something in its voice softens. The clatter of the day falls away. The pace of foot traffic slows. The pavement vendors pack up their stools, and the shopkeepers roll down the shutters that have kept them visible all day. And then, almost silently, the night taxis begin to hum through the streets like veins in a sleeping body. White Quantums. Red stripe. Sliding door. One hand on the wheel, the other resting near the gearstick, waiting to nudge forward into motion. Inside, the lights are dim, sometimes a soft blue, sometimes the…

In South Africa’s rural heartlands, where accessing clean water, sanitation and services is often a strenuous journey, a powerful story of transformation is quietly unfolding. Thanks to visionary women stepping into leadership roles, particularly within Mvula‑facilitated water and sanitation committees, villages across the country are reclaiming agency, fostering resilience, and building more inclusive futures. These trailblazers are not only transforming infrastructure, they are reshaping community governance, social norms, and the very fabric of rural development. The interface between gender, governance, and public service delivery has historically privileged men, even as women bear the brunt of water collection and family care. Extensive research across African rural settings shows that, although women…

In recent years, the global fashion industry has witnessed a significant trend of celebrities launching their own fashion lines, leveraging their personal brands to enter the retail market. This phenomenon is not limited to Hollywood; South African celebrities have also embraced this venture, merging their public personas with entrepreneurial ambitions. One notable example is Bonang Matheba, a prominent South African media personality. In 2008, she collaborated with retailer Legit to introduce her first clothing line, “Just B.” This initial success paved the way for subsequent ventures, including a handbag collection called “Baby Star” and the ongoing lingerie line “Distraction By Bonang” with Woolworths, launched in 2014. Another significant figure is…

Before voice notes and blue ticks, before unlimited WhatsApp bundles and TikTok duets, there was the sacred language of the missed call. It rang once. Maybe twice. Then it stopped. And in South Africa, that wasn’t just a dropped connection, that was a whole sentence. A full-blown conversation wrapped in two beeps and a hang-up. A missed call here means more than it does anywhere else. It’s not just a sign of poor signal or a dropped line. It’s a code, an inside joke, a way of saving airtime and saying everything without saying a word. The phone doesn’t even need to be answered, the message has already been received.…

When Tyla Laura Seethal stepped onto the international music stage, she brought with her not just the promise of a new pop star, but the unmistakable texture of Johannesburg’s youth, bold, rhythmically fluent, and globally unbothered by borders. With her breakout hit “Water,” a sultry, rhythmic track blending Amapiano and R&B, Tyla did more than crack the charts, she cracked open a space for South African sound and style on the world’s biggest stages. In February 2024, Tyla won the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, becoming the youngest South African to take home the honour. At just 22 years old, she had done what few artists from the…

South Africa’s economic landscape has long been shaped by a few extraordinary individuals whose personalities and business acumen extend far beyond balance sheets. Among them stand Patrice Motsepe and Nicky Oppenheimer, titans not only in mining and finance, but also in shaping philanthropic agendas that address inequality, environmental stewardship, and social innovation across the continent. Their story reveals how wealth, when harnessed deliberately, can spark systemic change and inspire broader networks of giving. Patrice Motsepe: Mining, Sports, and a Visible Giving Pledge Born in Soweto in 1962, Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe entered the legal profession before founding African Rainbow Minerals in 1997. Through sound use of Black Economic Empowerment policies, Motsepe transformed underperforming…

There’s a corner in every South African city where the buzz of clippers is as constant as passing taxis and the rustle of plastic bags in the wind. Pavements in Durban, Soweto, East London, they all have their stretch where chairs are lined up, mirrors nailed to corrugated iron, and a generator running like a mechanical heartbeat. These aren’t just barbers. They’re shape-shifters, sculptors, local philosophers. And in 2025, a growing number of them are turning the art of a township haircut into something more than a way to make rent. Scroll through TikTok or Instagram and it doesn’t take long before you stumble on @FadeGodZulu or @FreshlineEli, street barbers…