Nazreen Sekao Pandor describes herself as a blue ocean thinker. This is someone who is able to expand their mindset in unexplored market spaces and think exponentially. They pave new pathways taking the road less travelled.  With her recent Master of Business Administration (MBA) postgraduate degree, Pandor is doing just that. Pandor was part of the graduating class of students from the University of Johannesburg (UJ)’s Johannesburg Business School (JBS) on Friday, 19 April 2024. Her capstone project was about ‘Opportunities for a selected female startup to enter into organic farming business’ where her primary objective was to determine its feasibility.

“For me it was about understanding how it is that we can combat food insecurity. I had to look at what legislation says about ensuring that there is sustainability with what we are putting into the earth, what we are putting into our bodies and food security hence I focused on organic farming which is a holistic approach throughout its entire value chain. In South Africa, farmers face numerous challenges losing livestock and running at losses due to climate changes and also being faced with load shedding. As the world population increases, in order to address food demands there is a need for sustainable practices,” said Pandor adding that the selection of this paper was also to help enhance female empowerment and understanding the formula for startup businesses.

An empowered patriot

Pandor, a relative of Naledi Pandor, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, has always been surrounded by powerful women of substance. She has also made a name for herself within her industry as a professional non-practising attorney, a qualified arbitrator with a background in anti-corruption as the former Head of Communications and Stakeholder Relations for the Special Investigations Unit. Pandor started working in the anti-corruption space in 2010 when very few women were actively taking part in it. While it is still a male dominated industry, she has managed to navigate through and make a name for herself in the process.

She has been celebrated for her work in Forbes Women Africa and was on the list of Mail and Guardian Top 200 having been chairperson of the then Youth Employment Index. She was also selected to go to Paris as part of The Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition where she spent time gaining international experience.

UJ is cutting edge

“UJ gave me the ability to think on a global scale,” said Pandor on why she chose to do her MBA at the university.

“For me UJ is cutting edge when it comes to using technology. I was able to do my MBA online, from anywhere in the world. I travel quite a lot and at one point I was in Saudi Arabia and I had a deliverable, another point I was in Limpopo and I was able to hand in my deliverable because of the online space UJ affords its students.”

She adds that the calibre of the lecturers was impeccable. “I was taught not only by lecturers but by people who are front face in entrepreneurship. The curriculum and being ahead in terms of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), is what sets UJ apart.

Entrepreneurship and the Startup space

Raised in Botswana from an entrepreneurial and politically active family, it was there she learnt to appreciate diverse cultures. Her entrepreneurship spirit started early on, while she was helping to run her family’s many businesses including bakeries, grocery shops, butchers and a cinema. “I come from a family of activists and entrepreneurs. One that is diverse and values giving back. So entrepreneurship for us is about creating employment.”

Pandor will be seeking opportunities that are available for women in the Startup space, which has a different formula to the SMME space. “I’ve had businesses that have failed. I wanted to take my practical knowledge on business success and failure and find answers in the topic that I chose.”

Focus on the goal

While the journey to MBA was challenging, Pandor insists on having a positive mindset to see things through. ““One of the first things we did in our MBA module on Leadership (which I obtained with Distinction) was to create  a vision board that was able to make me see the end goal right from the beginning. I also had four quadrants that helped me – religion, activity, financial goals and maintaining relationships. My mantra was to be resilient, it was not easy, but because it was a childhood dream, I believed I could do it and I am proud to say I did.”

Know your why

Pandor’s advice to students who are on their own journey to an MBA: “You have to know your why, when days are dark- and there will be dark days – if you don’t know your why, you will not pull through.If you have a vision and you know what is your why, that is what will pull you through when days are dark. That is the advice I would give, after that comes grit and resilience.”

“My MBA has really given me the confidence, as a multi-talented woman, to be that blue ocean thinker and contribute to make a difference not only in South Africa, but to the world,” concluded Pandor.