Cover Story: Zanele Maduna CA(SA) – From profit to purpose

An estimated 10 million social enterprises operate globally. Those built on B2B models align closely with corporate ESG priorities while delivering practical solutions to real problems, from youth unemployment and education gaps to skills shortages and social exclusion. They report on results and are held accountable, setting them apart from many traditional NGOs.

In South Africa, where unemployment remains stubbornly high and the education system continues to battle low throughput and deep inequality, this model is gaining traction. It brings financial discipline to social investment.

One example of this approach in action is No-Valo Learning Centre – a black female-owned, Level 1 B-BBEE-accredited Skills Development Provider that works with bursary funds, universities, employers, and scholarship programmes to support student success. Founder Zanele Maduna CA(SA) maintains that education interventions work best when they recognise the full reality of a student’s life, not only what happens in the classroom.

A Thuthuka Bursary Fund recipient, Maduna began her career in the corporate world and later moved into lecturing, teaching accounting at higher education institutions, including Unisa. Those early years informed how she thinks about performance, systems, accountability, and governance.

While lecturing, she began to notice a recurring pattern. Students were failing not because they lacked intelligence or access to content, but because they had no self-management skills. They crammed, burned out, and struggled to cope with the transition from school to university.

‘They didn’t understand that being a student is about more than studying,’ she explains. ‘Looking after your mind, your energy, your general well-being, and how you manage yourself is critical.’

LESSONS FROM EARLY VENTURES

No-Valo was not Maduna’s first venture. Like many entrepreneurs, she learned through trial and error. One of her earliest businesses, started with a friend, was a learning platform designed to host development events for women. The idea was sound, but it was poorly executed.

‘At our first event, exactly one person bought a ticket,’ she says. ‘That taught me very quickly that you need a powerful brand if you want people to show up.’

In her early ventures, Maduna tried to do everything herself, which stalled progress. ‘What changed everything was learning to partner and build a team,’ she says. ‘Entrepreneurship is not a solo sport.’

That’s why she built No-Valo with structure and long-term sustainability built in from the start.

BUSINESS FIRST, IMPACT BY DESIGN

No-Valo Learning Centre launched as a skills development business and pivoted fully into its current model in 2020. Maduna went full-time in the business in June 2023, which explains its recent growth.

The organisation operates through two distinct entities, the No-Valo Learning Centre and the No-Valo Foundation.

The learning centre is a commercial, fee-based business. It’s accredited and delivers structured programmes in study skills, psychosocial support, and work-readiness training. Its clients are bursary funds, scholarship programmes, employers, and higher education institutions. These partners pay for interventions because they need better student outcomes.

The foundation, by contrast, focuses on challenges that education alone cannot fix.

‘It’s pointless to try and break the cycle of poverty through education while ignoring hunger and infrastructure,’ Maduna says.

This separation is deliberate and strategic. The business generates revenue and remains financially disciplined. A percentage of profits is channelled into the foundation, which funds hunger alleviation projects, library renovations, psychosocial support initiatives, and other targeted interventions. From a governance perspective, the split allows for focus and accountability. Impact work is not allowed to weaken commercial sustainability, and profitability does not outweigh purpose.

No-Valo’s work focuses on three of the most persistent challenges facing South African youth: academic underperformance, mental health strain, and unemployment.

Rather than duplicating academic content, the organisation works on what Maduna calls ‘the person behind the student’.

For first-year university students, this often means helping them transition from school to varsity life. Programmes include change management, energy management, emotional regulation, and performance coaching. For senior students and graduates, the focus shifts to work readiness, including professional behaviour, self-confidence, and meeting workplace expectations.

No-Valo works closely with institutions that already invest heavily in students. Many bursary funds and universities provide tutoring, accommodation, and financial support, yet still see high dropout and failure rates.

‘What we realised is that the missing piece is not academic ability,’ Maduna says. ‘It’s self-management.’

By shifting the focus away from memorisation and towards performance skills, No-Valo aims to improve outcomes over time. This approach also makes impact easier to track and assess.

EDUCATION BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Currently, around 95% of the foundation’s funding comes directly from the business, with the remainder raised from the public. Its hunger alleviation programme provides groceries for matric students and their families during exam periods and team members check in regularly with beneficiaries.

‘The feedback is that students are able to focus better because they don’t have to worry about food,’ she says.

A recent project was the renovation of a Tembisa school library. When the organisation first became involved, the space was not usable. There were no shelves, bookswere piled on the floor, and everything was covered in dust. Hygiene was a concern, and there was nowhere for learners to sit, read, or study.

‘It was heartbreaking to see,’ Maduna says. ‘We started by securing and repairing the floors and walls to keep out dust, damp, and pests. We installed shelves, sourced books through partners such as Unisa and other donors, and created dedicated study areas so learners had a quiet, safe place to work. The school now manages the library day to day, with our continued support.’

Around 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language. Teachers have told Maduna that some Grade 10 learners struggle to read fluently. ‘If young people are exposed to proper infrastructure early, it helps build a culture of reading,’ she says.

LEADERSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PRACTICE

At 32, Maduna has already made a strong impression. Her work has earned high-profile recognition, from the 2021 Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans award in Education to the 2024 African Women Chartered Accountants Leading Entrepreneur of the Year award. She’s also been featured on CNN and eNCA.

Maduna describes her leadership style as firm, fair and people centred. At No-Valo, small wins are noticed and celebrated daily. An avid reader, she counts Radical Candor by Kim Scott and The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz among her recent favourites. What resonates with her is not leadership technique, but behaviour – how leaders listen, show respect, make clear decisions, and invest in people.

Although she loves what she does, Maduna is careful to make time away from work. Outside the office, she spends time with friends and goes for regular walks with her much-loved Pomeranian, Millow.

LOOKING AHEAD

No-Valo has reached more than 11 000 beneficiaries. Maduna’s target is 100 000 by 2030. Her plan is to grow its physical presence across provinces and to work more closely with universities. She’s increasingly aligning the organisation’s work with UN Sustainable SDG 1 (reducing poverty), SDG 4 (improving education), and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).

Her message to social impact entrepreneurs is that the business must be financially viable. ‘Build organisations that can stand on their own, deliver value, and be held accountable. Let’s prove that financially viable businesses are among the strongest tools we have for real, lasting social progress.’

Zanele Maduna’s Top 8 Tips for Entrepreneurs, Students & Young Professionals

1. Know your WHY — whether you’re building, studying, or starting out
Your why is your anchor. When the pressure rises, the work feels heavy, or progress is slow, clarity of purpose helps you stay committed long after motivation fades.
2. Happiness is choosing your struggle
There is no path without resistance. Studying hard is a struggle — but so is not studying and failing. Working hard is a struggle — but so is staying stuck. Building a good business is a struggle — but so is watching potential go unrealised. Choose the struggle that moves you forward.
3. Start before you’re ready
Waiting for perfect clarity often leads to inaction. Momentum is built by starting — even on a Friday — and allowing learning and confidence to meet you in motion.
4. Discipline is self-respect
Discipline isn’t about being harsh on yourself. It’s about keeping promises to yourself — showing up consistently in your studies, career, or business, even when it’s uncomfortable.
5. Learn to enjoy failing forward
Growth requires getting things wrong. Failure isn’t a setback; it’s feedback. The faster you learn, adjust, and move forward, the stronger and more adaptable you become.
6. Never eat alone — relationships matter at every level
Success is rarely a solo journey. Be intentional about building meaningful relationships wherever you are — in classrooms, workplaces, and entrepreneurial spaces.
7. Don’t confuse busyness with progress
Full calendars can be misleading. Progress comes from focused work on the things that actually move the needle, not from doing everything at once.
8. Focus on your input, not just the output
You can’t always control marks, promotions, or revenue. What you can control is preparation, effort, and consistency. Strong inputs compound over time.

Author
Monique Verduyn