SIMPLY A FORCE

As a seasoned economist and the first Black female breakfast show host in African commercial radio history, Refilwe Moloto is unstoppable

- Thobeka Phanyeko

RAISED IN UML AZI, REFILWE MOLOTO SAYS she was lucky to have loving and inspiring parents, both professionals and entrepreneurs in their fields of law and medicine. ‘My “upbringing” isn’t easy to sum up. It’s steeped in love and respect,’ she says. The youngest of three girls, she describes her childhood as joyful, informed and fun. ‘We travelled and explored together.’

GQ: You attribute your love for education to having parents who’re academics, and your late grandmother, Ellen Kuzwayo, who was an author and teacher.

Refilwe Moloto: My love for education stems from my curiosity. The credit for nurturing my inquisitiveness goes to my parents, descendants of generations of well-educated stock, amongst whom is my father’s mother, Ellen Kuzwayo. It’d be reductive to think that an award-winning first attempt autobiography didn’t draw from a deep well. I’d also say it’s a combination of nurture and nature – the world into which every one of my family’s generations was born gave them much to question and challenge. That lends itself to an affinity for seeking answers and education is incredibly liberating, in that sense. My family has a fair number of educators, going back a few generations on both sides of the family tree, and my respect for education was grounded there. A combination of my grade-two teacher and educating people through various channels of my career influenced my desire to teach.

GQ: What was it about the financial sector that captured your attention?