The woman fighting for Amazon, Absa, Woolworths and other big businesses in South Africa

Busisiwe Mavuso is the CEO of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), dubbed the “Iron Lady of South African business”.

BLSA is a lobby group whose members include Absa, Standard Bank, Sasol, Amazon, FirstRand, Investec, Naspers, BP, Woolworths, Vodacom, Volkswagen, Nedbank, MTN, Allan Gray and many more.

It serves South African businesses to create a conducive environment for the private sector to unlock growth and development for all South Africans.

The group speaks on behalf of its members to formulate and express views on macroeconomic and other issues of national interest, while also looking to grow the private sector.

At its core, the aim is to create an environment in South Africa where the private sector can thrive, while also holding it to high ethical standards and sound economic management.

As its CEO, Mavuso has become well known for her outspoken advocacy in the country’s corporate sector.

Her career started in 1995 when she was an intern at Allied Bank, which would be amalgamated with three other banks to form Absa.

She worked as a candidate bank technician, and her first pay cheque was R600. She used it to buy a bus ticket for the month and gave the rest to her widowed mother.

Despite growing up as a bright child in Soweto, her family’s financial constraints meant that she had to find a job as soon as she was able.

Her goal was to become a chartered accountant (CA) due to her strength in maths. Despite needing to work, she studied through Unisa and attained her degree after nine years.

She would go on to study a postgraduate Certificate in the Theory of Accounting, but “failed dismally,” she said, adding that she was unaware that she needed to do articles.

Despite this, she would go on to qualify as a CA through distance learning with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants in the UK, attaining her childhood dream 23 years after leaving school.

On top of her CA, she has a Master’s Degree in Business Leadership from UNISA and a Postgraduate Qualification in Business Management from GIBS.

After leaving the banking space in 2009, Mavuso joined the Black Management Fund (BMF), where she was mentored by businessman and University of Free State Chancellor, Bonang Mohale.

She would take on several roles at the BMF, including Chief Financial Officer, Operations Director and Managing Director.

She would resign from the BMF in 2018 to become the Chief Operating Officer of BLSA, replacing her mentor, Mohale.

Mavuso is a staunch supporter of the South African private sector and has been incredibly outspoken and critical of the state.

Before to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Mavuso frequently noted that the state was incapable of supplying services to South Africa by itself, pushing for greater public-private partnerships.

She has come to loggerheads with senior government officials, most notably at an Eskom meeting with the Standing Committee of Public Accounts (Scopa).

Outside of her BLSA responsibilities, Mavuso also served on Eskom’s board. In April 2022, she said that the board and former CEO Andre de Ruyter should not be made scapegoats for Eskom’s troubles.

She said that the problems facing the state-owned utility, which was under severe financial strain and implementing high stages of load shedding, were the fault of the government figures.

After pointing the finger at the ANC officials, she butted heads with then-Scopa Chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa, an IFP member. She left the meeting and would resign from the board later that year.

Her tone, like many business leaders, has turned more positive over the last year following the formation of the business-friendly GNU.

Under the GNU, co-operation between the private and public sectors has become the theme of the day, and these partnerships are being pegged as the new driving force of the economy.

Outside of BLSA, she has also served on the boards of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and Resultant Finance.

She is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organisation, the IoDSA and ACCA. She also also selected as part of the 2022 Fortune-U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Program.

She was awarded the ‘2020 Influencer of Influencers Award’ by the Africa Brand Summit in October 2020 and was named second runner up for ‘Businessperson of the Year’ by Daily Maverick.