Business Talk – SAB Foundation Executive Director Sarah Mthintso on SMMEs and entrepreneurship in South Africa
In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, SAB Foundation’s Executive Director Sarah Mthintso discusses job creation, South Africa’s SMME market, and grassroots entrepreneurship.
Mthintso holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Witwatersrand, as well as an MBA from Wits Business School.
She began her career as the Director of Training and Development at the National Prosecuting Authority in 2004, and later joined Telkom in 2008.
Mthintso held various executive positions at Telkom, including Executive for Enterprise Stakeholder Relations and Government Relations, and later became the CEO of the Telkom Foundation in 2011.
She then joined Old Mutual South Africa as the General Manager for Corporate Affairs and then became an Executive at Vodacom, before taking on her current role in 2025.
To her role as the SAB Foundation’s Executive Director, Mthintso brings more than 20 years of experience across social impact and public policy disciplines.
The SAB Foundation was set up by South African Breweries as an independent trust that invests millions of rands in local entrepreneurship.
The interview
In this interview, Mthintso takes listeners through the types of businesses and entrepreneurs that the SAB Foundation aims to support.
She talks about the SMME market in South Africa and explains how larger institutions can empower them.
Mthintso then highlights the growing emergence of rural and per-urban economies, explaining how they shape economic growth.
Finally, Mthintso explains why she believes social inclusion matters among marginalised individuals.
Watch the full Business Talk interview below.
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