Nelisiwe Sibiya
Photo: @artinthemusic/@nelisiwe_faith_sibiya/Instagram
After winning four awards this year alone, securing a lead role as Phiwe on e.tv’s new telenovela Land of Mills and Money, and managing a successful business, actor and singer Nelisiwe Sibiya feels unstoppable. Rightfully so.
“This is actually just the beginning,” Nelisiwe says, “I’m living and I’m tapping into one of my answered prayers,” she tells Drum.
Nelisiwe is not just an actress but now an award-winning businesswoman, as the owner of Emandulo House. Growing up, her family had a tuck shop and that is where she adopted her entrepreneurial mindset.
“I’ve always loved business, I used to sell everything from sweets to amagwinya (fatcakes), I’ve always known how to create a space for me to make money, besides what I’m doing,” she shares.
With the South African entertainment landscape being as volatile as it is – and with actors constantly finding it difficult to secure consistent work, for Nelisiwe, it is about more than just her passion for her culture and heritage – it is also about security.
“It’s really important as creatives to be able to do other things besides what we do,” she says. “The truth is, it is very, very hard; the industry is very challenging and competitive.”
Even though she started the business in 2020, Nelisiwe has kept it under wraps until recently, when she won a runner-up award at the Durban Tourism Business Awards in the Crafters category.
“I just want people to know me because of my work,” she says. “I prefer that people do not know the other stuff that I do. I tried so hard to just distance myself from the businesses that I do because sometimes privacy has power. Privacy is very powerful.”
Despite successfully navigating a tough industry, she remains candid about how scary and overwhelming success can be.
“Everything that is happening in my life right now, it is so overwhelming,” she shares. She gives credit to her faith, saying, “God has been so good, my ancestors have been so good to me.”
She wishes she could share her achievements with both her parents, who have passed on: “This was my parents’ and my dream. I remember when my mother was still alive, she used to tell me that I’m going to be big.”
READ | Nelisiwe Sibiya celebrates Durban Tourism Business Awards recognition for Emandulo House
Reflecting on her journey, she notes the hurdles creatives face behind the scenes.
“There are so many things that are happening in the background as a creative where you lose hope and feel like maybe you are less than who you are, especially as someone who comes from rural homes. I grew up with nothing, literally telling myself that I would never amount to anything, but whenever I look at myself now, and I’m just like, God knows his love.”
Closing with a message for the next generation, she offers a word of encouragement: “For every young girl, especially young women, who comes from rural homes, this is a prophecy, and this is proof that it’s possible.”
“It’s my time,” she concludes.