Nomndeni is impacting women from all spheres through her Impact Entrepreneurship journey.

Words by Sizwe Shabalala

Nomndeni Mdakhi is the Founder of Agenda Women and self-proclaimed Impact Entrepreneur. As an Impact Entrepreneur, she believes that affecting change should always be at the forefront of business. While it could be said that, for some people, it might not be as transparent that in the past, people did business primarily for profitability. However, she believes that we are now in an era where businesses understand the importance of purpose as well. For Nomndeni, the change in mindset of challenging herself to find ways to be more impactful in her work has been a natural evolution. 

“I recognise that it’s a privilege to have the freedom to think about impact and not necessarily just your profit, but it’s such an important part of my work. When you are privileged, you have to be willing and open to do hard things; you have to solve the hard problems. So, calling myself an Impact Entrepreneur comes from this place of thinking where I recognise that I am not as disadvantaged as a lot of people. Even though I have my share of challenges I face every day, I sit in a position where I can really be thorough in thinking about how my work can leave a mark in the universe.”

It can often seem like businesses don’t work in a way in which impact and profitability can co-exist. But, as far as Nomndeni is concerned, that is generally how business works. She believes that the businesses that are becoming profitable are, in fact, impactful businesses.

“BUSINESSES THAT THINK ABOUT PURPOSE AND SUSTAINABILITY ARE THE ONES WITH A BETTER CHANCE OF BEING IMPACTFUL.”

"Our consumers don’t only want to buy products, they also want to contribute to changing the world. So, when we position our businesses in a way that helps them be better, we actually stand a better chance of being profitable. It’s not one or the other. In fact, when you run a company that considers how people live, that’s when they will support you. When you are purposeful in the work that you do, people gravitate towards that.”

Agenda Women was born through this burning desire to impact and empower women. Essentially, Agenda Women is a women-focused online platform built for the modern woman looking for content and community to help them navigate the evolving dynamics of being a working woman through the community’s shared experiences. The business pillars for Agenda Women include, Content, Publishing, and Enterprise Development. According to Nomndeni, they also have plans to include Retail in the near future.

“Ultimately, our purpose is to give African women the confidence to own their future. So, even when we think about the content we want to produce or anything else by Agenda Women, we are constantly asking the question: how does this help women become more confident? Whether that’s exposing them to resources and tools or to financial education to help them become financially literate, we are always thinking about ways to use our platform to bring everyone together with the purpose of collaboration.”

“Through collaboration, we can really dig deep and develop effective ways for women to gain economic independence. At Agenda Women, we believe that putting money into women’s pockets will shift how society looks and how the world looks.”

“Our mission is to create an ecosystem that churns out successful women through a model that’s holistically empowering. Our vision is that, by 2030, every brand wanting to target women as an audience, looks to us for partnership.”

The idea is to give women the confidence to own their future, and to achieve this, the organisation looked into what that would entail. Nomndeni says that the content pillars of Agenda Women are informed by a study that investigated what actually affects women’s confidence or what contributes to low-self-esteem.

“THE STUDY REVEALED THAT SOME OF THE FACTORS INCLUDE, FINANCIAL AUTONOMY: WOMEN FEELING LIKE IF THEY DON’T HAVE MONEY; THEY DON’T FEEL LIKE THEY CAN SHOW UP AS THEMSELVES.”

“Secondly, social networks and connections: We are generally mostly influenced by the conversation we have with the people around us. As such, Agenda Women hosts various events to bring like-minded women together. It’s about intentionally building that ecosystem. Thirdly, freedom of thought: Women wanting to just express themselves without feeling like they are being policed. Fourth, accessibility and visibility: Women say if they don’t see other women that look like them being successful, they will likely not attempt that journey themselves. The last one is body autonomy: Women saying society polices women’s bodies so much, we often have to think about the entire world before we think about ourselves.”

Speaking of how women see themselves, Nomndeni expressed the importance of finding confidence in how you look. The slogan for Agenda Women is: Working smart and living well. According to Nomndeni, this slogan applies perfectly to this Witchery collection because not only does it give her the confidence to feel smart but it helps her feel comfortable.

“I LOVE HOW THE CLOTHING IS SO DREAMY. IT TRANSPORTS YOU TO A WORLD OF EASE.”

“I am a big believer in that duality because women are not just one thing. I’m a mom, an entrepreneur, andI can be someone’s partner. In all of these different roles, I show up as a different version of myself and my clothes should carry the same energy. I will go into my wardrobe and select different looks from the collection for the different roles I take on in my daily life. As entrepreneurs, we are constantly thinking about the future, thinking about salaries and I just love that the Witchery collection has a bit of, ‘I can empower you but let's also have fun!’”

Ultimately, a lot of the work done by Agenda Women is centred on addressing questions on attaining their purpose and creating a replicable model of success. One of the ways they are doing this is through their recent Agenda Women Summit, which brings women together to share, collaborate and empower.

“The feedback for our recent summit has been amazing. I received a number of calls and emails from people about the excellence of the execution of the event and the quality of the content. From the back-end, when we looked at our statistics, everything was positive. We saw the possibility for the growth of the brand. This positive feedback tells us that people are hungry for this kind of content, and if it’s packaged well, they buy into it. The authenticity and trust we have built with our audience are what keep us going.”

“THERE IS SO MUCH INTENTIONALITY IN WHAT WE DO AND CLARITY AROUND THE RESULTS WE WANT TO GET, TO THE POINT WHERE EVERYTHING IS BUILT AND CURATED FOR US TO BE IN THE BEST POSITION TO GET THOSE RESULTS.”

When Nomndeni started Agenda Women just a few years ago, it was originally through her events series, known as Edits Talks at the time. It was through noticing a gap and being aware of what women needed, that she eventually transformed Edits Talks into Agenda Women. There have been some noticeable achievements and milestones for Agenda Women since its inception, including the opportunity to host the event in Ghana in 2022.

“I am really thrilled with the interest that [potential] corporate partners have had in the brand. In the same way that financial autonomy is something that we hold so dear as a brand, it is also crucial for us to highlight our success from a financial point of view. If we don’t do that, it will not compel women to quantify their success in that way, in addition to all the other ways they consider to be successful.”

According to Nomndeni, the interest they’ve been getting from brands has also been a noticeable milestone. As it is not easy to get the attention of those brands, building a business to the point where brands have become particularly interested in what they have to say has been a big achievement for the company.

While Agenda Women is seeing some well-deserved success right now, Nomndeni defines success in her personal life slightly differently. According to her, it’s about finding ways to create harmony between her professional work and her personal wellness.

“THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING IN A SPACE WHERE I CAN BE IMPACTFUL BUT ALSO MAKE MONEY WHILE DOING IT IS WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE A SUCCESS IN MY LIFE.”

“So much of our history as a people has been so traumatic that often the culture of labouring is glorified. There is nothing wrong with labouring, but one must recognise that labouring doesn’t always translate to wealth. So, the question becomes: how do we become wealthy enough to do the work that we need to do to be impactful. That’s why finding harmony between those things is crucial for me.”

When reflecting on her journey so far, Nomndeni reflects on how much work has gone into Agenda Women as she continues to grow as a person and entrepreneur. She says it feels like entrepreneurship tests all of who you are as a person. She remains dedicated because there is no safety net for her; there is no Plan B. This is it for her. While Nomndeni’s entrepreneurship ambitions seem clearer now, she acknowledges that this was not always the case.

“When I first started back in 2009, it was very personal. I wanted to explore entrepreneurship for personal reasons, and even when I launched my second business in marketing consultancy, the end goal was still pretty much for my own gain. Now, my work is really driven by the impact I can make in other people’s lives before I can make an impact in my own life.”

“IT IS ALSO ABOUT HOW WE ARE CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ABOUT WOMEN, PARTICULARLY MILLENNIAL WOMEN AND THE NEXT GENERATION. I AM BUILDING A BUSINESS THAT’S GOING TO LAST BEYOND ME.”

One of the life-changing realisations she had in this journey was accepting that things will not always be perfect. Looking back now, with the benefit of hindsight, Nomndeni acknowledges that when she was younger, she thought perfection equaled success.

“Now I know that a lot of successful people don’t necessarily do things perfectly; they just do them. They just get on with things, and they learn along the way. There is no quest for perfection. It is about getting things done and having the courage to fail. Also, I have learned that it takes courage to ask for help. People who are not courageous are afraid of asking for help because they worry about being seen as not knowing.”

Nomndeni attributes resilience as one of the reasons for her success. “I don’t know how you build resilience, but I just recognise that I am. Even as I speak to you today, there is no potential challenge that faces me; there is nothing that I think could happen that could make me stop. I know how to pace myself. I know how to invest in learning what I need to learn to be better. The business I am building is nowhere close to where I want it to be, but it is well on its way. I am doing it.”

For Nomndeni, this unwavering burning desire to empower women is really about recognising her own journey and the impact of people helping her when she needed it the most. Her grandmother believed in her, which influenced Nomndeni’s journey. Growing up as a young girl and constantly being reminded that she was smart is what made all the difference.

“I RECOGNISE THE CHALLENGES WOMEN FACE AROUND THE WORLD. THE WORLD IS DESIGNED FOR MEN TO THRIVE. IT IS NOT DESIGNED TO FAVOUR WOMEN. FOR ME, IT IS ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES.”

“This has had the biggest positive impact on me as a person because I go out into the world with the belief that I am smart. I was raised in a matriarchal home, and I see the impact of that in my own life. To a certain degree, creating Agenda Women is about creating a space that replicates those moments in my life that made me thrive – and creating those moments for other women to tap into and feel like they have someone who believes in them.

She believes that one of the catalysts in bringing about these necessary changes is realising the urgency for policies designed to put women in better positions to attain success.

“In the same way the Government introduced BEE, a policy implemented to allow more black people access to economic empowerment, we need to think deliberately from a government and policy level about the challenges women face and how policy can affect change. Changing how women see themselves will also change what they tolerate. We need to work from the bottom up and from the top down; there is no one way. Our role at Agenda Women is to help change how women see themselves.”

Looking ahead to the future, Nomndeni hopes to continue her calling to empower and uplift women. While she is an inspiration to many young women out there, she has also been inspired by many women along her journey.

“THERE ARE SO MANY WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD THAT HAVE SHOWN US THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE DESPITE THE CHALLENGES. I AM CONSTANTLY BEING INSPIRED BY MY PEERS AND HOW THEY ARE SHOWING UP FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US.”

“Being part of a movement of women taking up space and making things happen is really amazing. I am also excited about the challenges we’re facing. It compels us to come together and figure it out. How do we collaborate? How do you identify what you bring to the table? Trying to figure out the best way to collaborate with women in a way that is empowering for them. That’s my other agenda.”