To be a successful leader, you also need to be brave

Sindi Zilwa, co-founder of the Nkonki firm of chartered accountants, is eminently qualified to talk about bravery.

As South Africa’s youngest woman to win Bwasa’s Business Woman of the Year award in 1998 and the third black woman to win the title, she knows all about chartering unknown territories, shattering stereotypes and starting at the bottom of a business ladder with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Today she is the CEO of Nkonki which, 23 years after its humble inception, is an organisation with more than 400 people, 40 partners and directors, and an international affiliation with Kreston International.