At just 32, Nolwazi Ntanjana has already lived many lives in one. A dynamic communicator, project manager, entrepreneur, and radio personality, she’s a woman whose journey reflects the very essence of resilience and reinvention.
With an academic foundation in Public Relations and over a decade’s experience in media, having graced the airwaves of East Coast Radio and Gagasi FM, Nolwazi’s voice is one many know well. But behind the mic lies a story of pivoting, purpose, and pushing through.
When she moved to Richards Bay with her family, Nolwazi took a bold step: she traded press releases for project charters, completing her Honours in Project Management and joining Kwikspace Modular Buildings. “I realised I was ageing and not putting my education to use,” she says. “I needed more.”
Even with her Monday to Friday career in full swing, radio still calls, she remains a stand-in presenter on East Coast Radio. And that’s the thing about Nolwazi: she doesn’t quit. Not when COVID hit her PR consultancy hard. Not when anxiety crept in as she returned to the 8-to-5 world she never thought she’d revisit. Instead, she adapted. And she’s thriving because of it.
“Resilience,” she reflects, “is about how I show up daily. It’s my compass, how I’ve shaped my life and how I’ll keep shaping it.”
What keeps her blooming? A relentlessly positive mindset. “I’ve learned to stop beating myself up. I hold little lectures in my mind after setbacks. I don’t see failures anymore, just learning curves.”
To other women walking their own paths, Nolwazi offers this truth:
“Start with inner work. Make yourself happy, not by dimming someone else’s light, but by loving the person in the mirror. Everything else follows.”
This Women’s Month, we celebrate women like Nolwazi, women who wear many hats, face the storms, and still rise with grace and grit.