Well-Grounded

Coco Cachalia, whose mother Amina was among the 20,000 in the Women’s March of August 1956, made a decision to stay away from politics – and succeed in business instead.

- Rofhiwa Madzena

AS THE DAUGHTER OF PARENTS WHO WERE struggle icons and African National Congress stalwarts, it may have been expected of Coco Cachalia to have continued where they left off.

But it is now 20 years since Cachalia, 59, ventured into entrepreneurship, as CEO of Grounded Media. Last year, she told FORBES WOMAN AFRICA: “There are good strong women in leadership roles today in our country and I think that started at the Women’s March [of August 9, 1956].”

“I was always very conscious of the struggle,” says Cachalia, whose parents Yusuf and Amina, were part of South Africa’s liberation struggle alongside the likes of Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.

“What I didn’t ever do, which I think was a conscious decision, was to formally enter into any political structure, I was very involved at a community level.

“I think it’s very difficult for children with parents who’ve held high positions in the struggle; firstly, I think it comes with complications in terms of how other people see them and their role in society but it’s also like you’re trying to live up to what your parents have done before and I just didn’t want to go down that route.