DJ Zinhle is all about showing 'the value of hard work' as a woman in business

There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise and elevate other women as well while on her journey to success, and DJ Zinhle is the epitome of just that.

The entertainer and entrepreneur — dubbed as Africa's number one DJ — clearly has a knack for growing businesses.

She owns an alcoholic beverage called Boulevard, a hair company called Hair Majesty, an Airbnb apartment, and an accessory company called Era By DJ Zinhle, and there is no stopping her.

The reboot of her reality TV The Unexpected for the second season came as no surprise to her because she never plans to fail, and she hopes this time around to shed more light on her business life to help inspire young women to work hard.

“It's important right now to show the youth that all the brands that become successful are doing a lot of work in the background and I feel I have that responsibility to teach people about the value of hard work. That you have to work hard to get the things that you get... people need to know that I actually work hard,” she tells TshisaLIVE.

During the pandemic, DJ Zinhle was among the many stars we saw effortlessly working and creating opportunities for many women, launching new brands and accessory ranges.

She's expected to launch her first flagship store for Hair Majesty this year and plans to have a young talented stylist in Mzansi join her team.

“I get a lot of people who are just always asking me about work online ... As a business person, I realised how hard it is to find good employees ... finding skilled people who are also passionate about what they do so I wanted to open it up to a large audience.

“I want people who are inspired to be part of the brand and the culture and be part of something big that we are doing with the store ... people who are inspired and people who want to work.”

Zinhle is a mother to two children — her firstborn Kairo from her previous relationship with rapper AKA who is now in a relationship with Nadia Nakai, and her last born, Asante with Black Motions' Mörda.

Throughout both pregnancies, DJ Zinhle never wavered from working and saying she was determined to empower women.

“Women are capable of holding it down, pregnant or not.”

She wants to pass on the baton to her daughters one day.

In July Kairo launched her jewellery line in collaboration with her mother's company, and Zinhle says she can't wait to see how her other daughter Asante steps into the same space.

“Kairo definitely has a big hand in putting the collection together, and luckily we have a creative director, Nomuzi who is very good with kids and at involving Kairo by making it a fun activity, so she doesn't realise that half the time that she is working... she was super excited to see the results afterward.

“I had a conversation with Santy and said sister, I'm giving you another year to just be yourself, but after a year we definitely have to start working. I'm giving her more time, but as soon as she's two years old, it's on,” Zinhle said, before breaking into giggles.