They Said Soweto Was Dangerous.He Built an Empire There.

Welcome to Gauteng Lifve, the premier platform where Africa's most powerful stories about the visitor economy, tourism, hospitality, and community-rooted entrepreneurship come alive. We don't do surface-level. We go deep. We go real. We go bold. WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE How the 1976 Soweto Uprising shaped a 5-year-old who would go on to change the township economy.Starting as a messenger boy at FNB and why working in every department was the best MBA he never paid for. Installing the first ATMs in Soweto, and convincing management there was money in the township. Why Bra Wandie's advice ("go to your people first") felt wrong but turned out to be the move that saved the business. The dark early years: no money, no network, friends who walked away when he started charging. What Mama Winnie Mandela selling soil and Archbishop Tutu chasing away tourists taught him about the visitor economy.Why living next door to Mandela and Tutu was both a location advantage and a leadership lesson. Surviving COVID, load shedding, crime, and the constant stigma of building in a township.How he built a staff development model that trained people to LEAVE, and why it made the brand stronger. The Sakhumzi Foundation: what's coming and why it's bigger than the restaurants. His dream of taking Sakhumzi Restaurant to Brooklyn, London, and beyond, and what it will take. His message to the youth on the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR This episode is for you if: You are an entrepreneur in a township or underserved community who needs proof that it's possible, right here, not in Silicon Valley. You are in tourism, hospitality, or the visitor economy and want to understand what authentic, community-rooted product development looks like. You are a young person who has been told your neighbourhood is a liability, Saki will personally dismantle that lie. You are a business leader, lecturer, or mentor looking for a South African case study in resilience, diversification, and people-first leadership.You are simply African, proud, and hungry, and you want your culture, your food, and your stories to take their rightful place in the global spotlight FOLLOW US & JOIN THE MOVEMENT Subscribe to Gauteng Lifve new episodes every week, unpacking the most powerful stories in Africa's visitor economy. 📲 Follow us on all socials: → Instagram: @GautengLife → TikTok: @GautengLife → Facebook: Gauteng Life → Twitter/X: @GautengLife 📱 Download the Visit Gauteng App — FREE for businesses across the Gauteng Province. Load your profile, list your specials, and let us take your offering to the world. 💬 Drop a comment below: What was the ONE line from Saki that hit differently for you? Gauteng Life is proudly brought to you by the Gauteng Tourism Authority, championing the visitor economy across Africa's economic heartland. #GautengLifve #SakhumziMaqubela #Soweto #VilaklaziStreet #SouthAfricanEntrepreneur #TownshipEconomy #GautengTourism #VisitorEconomy #AfricanFood #BlackBusiness #Entrepreneurship #SowetoUprising #HospitalityAfrica #BusinessPodcast #MadeInSoweto