Ntombifuthi Mtoba grew up in Swaziland with nine siblings. Her father’s insistence that his daughters be financially independent made her career-orientated from a young age. She received a BA in economics from the then University of Botswana and Swaziland and later moved to South Africa where she qualified as a chartered accountant.
Mtoba joined Deloitte & Touche in 1988 at a time when women in the industry were scarce. She quickly rose up the ranks and when Deloitte made her a partner she became the first black woman to hold such a position at one of the largest accounting firms in South Africa. It was one of many “firsts” — among them, the first black female deputy chairman at Deloitte and the first female president of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa. She is currently the president of Business Unity South Africa. It comes as no surprise that the Businesswomen’s Association and Nedbank named Mtoba Businesswoman of the Year in 2004.
Close to her heart is TEACH South Africa, a programme she founded to recruit maths, science, English and IT graduates to teach at schools in formerly disadvantaged communities.
She insists there are still many things she wants to achieve. She hopes to play a role in improving the lives of women. “Even though we have made many inroads, there is still a lot to do. We need to figure out how to bring more women into the economic space.”
— Lisa Steyn
