Corporate profile: Building a corporate empire

At 27 Lesego Maphanga has built himself a very impressive CV in the banking, entrepreneurial and radio field. He tells us how he is building his corporate emprie

1. What does your role as a process design manager at Standard Bank entail?

It entails creating, managing and streamlining new income generating business processes and projects in the bank. I’m constantly engaging with stakeholders and managing resources in order to keep the banks offering competitive and socially relevant to the time.

2. Tell us about your radio show, Gentlemen by Choice at Cliff Central, what topics do you cover, and what time is it?
   We’ve recently changed the name to Unplugged & In Charge in order for it to line-up with the NGO I’ve co-founded but the scope and style of the show is still the same.
   We talk about what it means to be a millennial in South Africa at this time, what our generation stands for, how we make the world a better place, what black excellence means and how to live up to our best potential.
3. You were a Mr South Africa finalist in 2014 and Mr Gauteng the same year, why did you go into the pageant, and what were your milestones during your reign?

This was a very tough year for me because I was finishing off my engineering degree at the same time; thus the biggest milestones I’ve surpassed have been internal revelations of myself. I actively exercised my self-discipline, work ethic, philanthropic spirit and constantly challenge myself. My reign made me realise that anyone can do anything if they truly put their minds to it, it forced me to excel in my corporate work and communicate a message of a zest for life and living with possibilities to people that looked up to me.
The reason I entered the pageants in the first place was because I wanted something different and out of the ordinary to engage in and this was certainly far out of my comfort zone.

4. What is your organisation Unplugged and In charge about?

It’s a social movement intended to convey a message of hope and audacity to dream beyond everyone’s immediate environment. I realised that the system we were living in was fundamentally flawed and thus one had to break all of the rules in order to properly chase down their dreams. This is a beautiful time to be alive and it is our responsibility to not let it all be in vein, rather we need to make a dent in the universe and set new trends in the world.

5. How do you balance your time to do every project under your belt?
   This is probably the toughest part of my everyday life but it’s not as bad as what most people think. The real issue is that most people spend a lot of time on distractions and non-beneficial tasks that don’t move them forward in their careers or quality of life. There’s no doubt that I’m generally very busy but I’m busy doing what makes me happy and making a living out of it therefore to me it’s a win-win situation.
6. Who is your role model or mentor and what best advice have they given you?
   I don’t believe in mentors, simply because my life path will not be similar to anyone else’s and my independent thought process is more valuable than fruitless advice.
   I do have role models though like my mom who is one the hardest working people I know and respect her for her never give up attitude. DJ Sbu is someone I’ve done business with in the past and I respect how he is able to reinvent himself constantly and maintain his relevance at every stage of his transformations. Tbo Touch and Gareth Cliff I respect for being true pioneers in their industries – we need more of them.
7. What other project are you planning to venture into?
   Very soon I’ll be competing in the mobile app tech sector and I’m looking forward to shaking up the industry in a way it’s not familiar with * Can’t say much about this right now, everything is still very hush hush*.
8. Tell us about your short term and long term goals

My short term goals are:
To grow my radio show to the best in its category, grow rapidly incorporate and to maintain 7 streams of income.
Long term:
To advance in my political career, redefine the face of corporate and spearhead economic transformation in South Africa.

9. What is your advice to young people pertaining their careers or businesses?

Everything you need to achieve your goal you already have, don’t doubt yourself, never give up and stay humble through great successes.

Connect with Lesego:

www.facebook.com/lesego.maphanga

Instagram @lesegomaphanga

Twitter @LSG_Maphanga