Building belonging at scale
Zakhele Mgobhozi’s journey is not simply about building a successful enterprise, it is about building belonging. From early responsibility as a teenager to founding a transformation platform that centres dignity, inclusion, and sustainability, his story reflects a leader who has chosen purpose over safety and humanity over convenience.
This is a portrait of a social entrepreneur who believes that systems must work for people, not the other way around.
My working life began early. At 15, I worked at a spare tyre shop. By 16, I was already contributing to my household while still in school. Those years taught me discipline, humility, and the dignity of hard work long before I had the language for leadership or impact.
In 2003, my formal career began when I joined ADCO as a data capturer, my first role behind a computer. I later worked as a cashier at the Durban University of Technology. These roles may have seemed modest from the outside, but they were formative.
They exposed me to systems, people, and environments that demanded accountability and adaptability. More importantly, they awakened something in me, a desire to move beyond survival and into purpose-driven work.
The commitment carried me into corporate South Africa. My journey took shape at Nedbank as a Customer Services Consultant, where I learned resilience, performance discipline, and customer-centred thinking.
I later joined International SOS as a Recruitment Administrator before moving to Teleresources, a turning point in my career. There, I progressed steadily from Account Manager to Key Accounts Manager, then Business Development Manager, National Sales Manager, and eventually Head of Sales for the TeleBest.
“Silence enables injustice. If we compromise our values for comfort, we lose the very purpose of our work.”
Education has always been central to how I see the world. I believe deeply in its power not just as a personal asset, but as a catalyst for collective empowerment and sustainable change. My learning journey has been continuous, spanning recruitment, financial services, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.
From early computer literacy studies to professional certifications, business school training, and my current Management Development Programme at Wits Enterprise, I’ve remained committed to sharpening my capacity to serve with excellence.
Over the years, I have invested in my professional development through a combination of academic and industry-focused programmes. These include a Computer Literacy Certificate from UniSchool at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (2003), a National Certificate in Labour Recruitment Services from Knowledge Quest (2011), and a National Certificate in Financial Services Management from the Insurance SETA (2012). I later completed the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Development programme at the University of Johannesburg Business School (2019), followed by the Management Development Programme through Wits Enterprise.
This learning, paired with lived experience across recruitment, financial services, and entrepreneurship, gave me cross-sector fluency. It taught me how to speak the language of systems while never losing sight of people. It also sharpened something I value deeply, emotional intelligence. That combination is what now allows me to mentor emerging entrepreneurs, influence transformation conversations, and contribute meaningfully to inclusive economic development in South Africa.
A major leadership milestone came when I joined Bankserv Africa as General Manager for Outsourcing. In that role, I oversaw transformation initiatives that touched recruitment practices, inclusion policies, and organisational processes. I was no longer just participating in systems, I was shaping them.
The most defining moment of my career came when I chose to leave corporate employment and start my own company. Founding Modern Centric Holdings, which began in a backroom, was not merely a professional decision. It was spiritual. I realised that if I truly wanted to drive transformation, I needed to build something fully aligned with my values. I chose purpose over safety.
Through Modern Centric Holdings, I have pursued a social entrepreneurial journey rooted in inclusion, equity, and belonging. This work aligns with the Leave No One Behind agenda and focuses on strengthening South Africa’s Decent Work and Economic Growth framework through practical, people-centred solutions.
From skills development and recruitment consulting to DEIBS, youth development, and the empowerment of persons with disabilities, the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and children, the work is wide, but the purpose is singular.
I live by a simple principle: what you put out will always come back to you. Perfect what you are doing now before chasing what looks greener elsewhere. Growth begins with mastery, patience, and self-awareness.
One of the most personal and defining moments in my journey came when I was instructed by my landlord to remove the Pride flag from my office. It felt like an erasure, not only of my identity as a queer man, but of the values I stand for. I refused to remain silent.
I escalated the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission. That moment reaffirmed a truth I live by: silence enables injustice. If we compromise our values for comfort, we lose the very purpose of our work.
From that conviction, initiatives like I AM ME were born, a national, annual collective platform that convenes leaders across sectors to engage in bold, necessary conversations about identity, inclusion, and accountability. It is about creating spaces where people are seen, heard, and valued, not as an afterthought, but as a foundation.
Recognition has followed the work, but it has never been the driver. Founding Modern Centric Holdings, creating the I AM ME an International annual collective, qualifying as an internationally certified life coach, and leading transformation initiatives within major institutions are milestones I hold with gratitude.
Industry acknowledgements from platforms such as the World Business Outlook Awards, Top Empowerment Awards, and APSO affirm the impact, but the work itself is the reward.
My legacy will not be measured by titles. It will be measured by deeds. By lives impacted. By spaces transformed. By voices amplified. Inclusion and belonging must never be optional extras — they must be non-negotiable principles in our workplaces and our society.
I have been shaped by many people along the way. Mentors like Gillian Johnson A-key, Dr Reece Oakes, Bettina Schaller, and Jacqui Ford didn’t just open doors, they helped shape my character, my courage, and my commitment to finding common ground even in disagreement. Their influence reminds me that leadership is never built alone.
My vision is #MODERNCENTRIC1MILLION a commitment to positively impact over one million lives through jobs, entrepreneurship, skills development, sustainability, and inclusion. If the next generation still has to fight the same battles we are fighting today, then we have failed them.
My career has been spiritual. Transformational. And deeply human. And I know this is only the beginning.
