Women’s Month spotlight shines on Lusanda Meje and Sesethu Dingaan, whose determination and business ambition are building new futures
Seen Here: Sesethu Dingaan is turning determination into a business through Mamzondi Collection in Nyanga Crossroads. From gym wear and beauty products to personal shopping services, she is steadily building her enterprise while working towards her dream of opening her own beauty parlour. Her story is a powerful reminder that every successful business begins with the courage to start. #WomensMonth #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Engen Photo Credit: Supplied
CAPE TOWN — For entrepreneurs Lusanda Meje and Sesethu Dingaan, building a business is about much more than generating an income. It is about independence, resilience and creating opportunities where none previously existed.
The two Cape Town-based entrepreneurs are among the young people who completed Engen’s New Venture Creation Learnership, an 18-month initiative designed to equip young people living with disabilities with practical entrepreneurial and business skills.
Their stories offer a powerful reminder during Women’s Month that entrepreneurship can become a vehicle for personal empowerment, family security and broader economic participation when aspiring business owners are given the right tools and support.
Turning a passion into a business
Originally from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape and now based in Delft, Lusanda Meje is building her entrepreneurial future through M-Scent Perfumes, an affordable fragrance business catering to both men and women.
What began as a perfume venture has expanded into a broader retail offering that includes personal shopping services, gym wear, hair products and skincare.
For Meje, every sale represents more than a commercial transaction. It is another step towards building a more secure future for herself and her young child.
Living with epilepsy has presented challenges along the way, but she says the experience has strengthened rather than diminished her determination.
“Sometimes it can be challenging, but it has made me stronger, taught me to never give up and motivated me to work hard and keep growing my business.”
Like many emerging entrepreneurs, access to capital remains one of the biggest obstacles to expansion. Rather than allowing financial constraints to derail her ambitions, Meje continues to focus on marketing her products and growing her customer base.
“One of my biggest challenges is not always having enough money to grow my business. I keep working hard, promoting my products and believing in myself. I never give up.”
The learnership has helped strengthen that resolve by giving her practical knowledge around running and developing a business.
“It has helped me understand how to manage and grow my business and has given me more confidence,” she says.
Her long-term ambition is to transform M-Scent Perfumes into a thriving enterprise capable of providing greater financial security for her family.
Her advice to other women is equally direct: believe in yourself, work hard and refuse to give up on your dreams.
Seen Here: Lusanda Meje, founder of M-Scent Perfumes, is turning determination into opportunity. From fragrances to fashion, hair and skincare, her growing business reflects her ambition to build a secure future for herself and her young child. Her journey demonstrates the power of resilience, skills development and believing in your vision. #WomensMonth #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Engen Photo Credit: Supplied
From an idea to a business
For Sesethu Dingaan, entrepreneurship is similarly rooted in determination and a desire to create something of her own.
Originally from Cradock in the Eastern Cape, Dingaan completed high school in Queenstown before relocating to Cape Town, where she now operates Mamzondi Collection from Nyanga Crossroads.
Her business offers gym wear, hair and skincare products, as well as personal shopping services.
Dingaan lives with depression and anxiety, but says her circumstances have not prevented her from pursuing her entrepreneurial goals.
“I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, but it has never stopped me because I take my medication and remain focused on my goals.”
Building a customer base remains one of her key challenges. Her response has been to make consistency and digital promotion central to her strategy.
“The only challenge I am facing is advertising, but I overcome that by being consistent in promoting my business on social media,” she says.
The learnership helped her move from having a business idea to understanding the fundamentals required to operate sustainably.
“It helped me come up with business ideas, manage finances wisely and understand the market I wanted my business to reach.”
Her ambitions extend beyond her current retail operation. Dingaan hopes to eventually establish her own beauty parlour, creating another chapter in her entrepreneurial journey.
Her message to women considering entrepreneurship is simple but powerful:
“That business idea you wake up with every day — don’t be afraid to start. It may be your breakthrough.”
Skills that translate into opportunity
The Engen New Venture Creation Learnership ran from September 2024 to February 2026, providing participants with NQF Level 2 and NQF Level 4 qualifications alongside laptops and digital skills training.
The programme focused on practical areas essential to entrepreneurship, including business planning, financial management, marketing and customer service.
For participants such as Meje and Dingaan, the value of the programme extends beyond the qualifications themselves. It has provided knowledge that can be applied directly to their businesses as they navigate the realities of entrepreneurship.
Engen Skills Development Facilitator Pontsho Matshediso says the experiences of women such as Dingaan demonstrate the wider impact that skills development can have.
“Women like Sesethu remind us that entrepreneurship creates opportunities not only for individuals, but also for their families and communities.”
That ripple effect is particularly significant in communities where formal employment opportunities can be limited and small businesses can provide an alternative pathway to economic participation.
Women as catalysts for economic growth
For Engen CSI Manager Olwethu Mdabula, Women’s Month provides an important opportunity to recognise women who are actively creating change through enterprise.
“When young women are equipped with education, business skills and confidence, they become catalysts for inclusive economic growth,” says Mdabula. “Lusanda’s journey is a wonderful example of what is possible.”
The stories of Meje and Dingaan also highlight an important dimension of entrepreneurship: success is not necessarily defined by the size of a business at the beginning of the journey, but by the ability to turn an idea into action and continue learning as the enterprise grows.
Both entrepreneurs are still building their businesses, developing their customer bases and working towards their long-term goals. Yet their journeys already demonstrate the value of combining determination with practical business knowledge.
Building more than businesses
For Meje, entrepreneurship is about creating a secure future for her child. For Dingaan, it is about turning a persistent idea into a sustainable enterprise and ultimately opening a beauty parlour.
Their ambitions may be personal, but their potential impact extends further.
As women establish businesses, develop new skills and participate more actively in the economy, they create opportunities not only for themselves but potentially for employees, suppliers, customers and their wider communities.
Their stories therefore capture the broader promise of enterprise development: give people the skills, confidence and opportunity to start, and they can begin creating possibilities for themselves and others.
For Lusanda Meje and Sesethu Dingaan, the journey is far from over. But they have already taken one of the most important steps — turning determination into action.
And during Women’s Month, their message resonates well beyond Cape Town: the first step may be small, but it can be the beginning of something much bigger.
