The women helping South African businesses make smarter decisions

Every day, thousands of South African businesses make decisions that could determine their future. Should they extend credit to a new customer? How do they balance commercial opportunity with financial risk? How do they remain compliant in an increasingly complex regulatory environment while continuing to grow?

Behind many of these decisions are professionals whose work is rarely visible. They analyse data, interpret risk, ensure compliance, build trusted relationships and help businesses make informed decisions with confidence.

Increasingly, many of those professionals are women.

Their work may not be visible to the average consumer, but it is fundamental to the way businesses operate. By helping organisations assess creditworthiness, interpret commercial data, navigate regulatory requirements and build stronger client relationships, they enable companies to trade with greater confidence, reduce financial risk and make better-informed decisions. In many ways, they are helping keep South Africa's economy moving, one business decision at a time.

As South Africa marks Women's Month, their stories offer a timely reminder that some of the country's most inspiring careers are being built quietly behind the scenes, in industries that many people know little about.

Careers shaped by opportunity

At Debtsource, a trade credit management company, women from different disciplines share remarkably similar journeys. Few originally planned careers in trade credit, compliance, data or business information. Instead, they found themselves saying yes to opportunities, embracing continuous learning and discovering careers that challenged them in ways they never expected.

For Plaxcidiah Muzembe, Head of Compliance, the journey began with what was meant to be a temporary job.

More than a decade ago, she arrived at Debtsource to clean the offices while searching for permanent employment. A conversation led to an opportunity as an administrator. From there, she embraced every opportunity to learn, gradually moving into compliance before eventually leading the department responsible for regulatory compliance, credit underwriting, claims and quality assurance.

“The biggest barrier I had to overcome wasn't external,” she reflects. “It was believing I was ready.”

That willingness to step beyond her comfort zone helped shape one of Debtsource's proudest milestones: achieving Level 1 B-BBEE recognition through years of strategic planning, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Her story illustrates something every woman interviewed spoke about in different ways: careers are rarely built through careful planning alone. More often, they are shaped by curiosity, resilience and saying yes to opportunities that appear unexpectedly.

For Tsholofelo Zietsman, that opportunity came through a 12-month learnership. Just five months later she was offered a permanent position. Today, she leads Debtsource's Data Department after progressing through several leadership roles while completing her qualifications at the same time.

Her perspective also challenges one of the biggest misconceptions about the profession.

“People think data is just numbers and spreadsheets,” she says. “In reality, it's about solving business problems, improving processes and helping organisations make better decisions.”

Leadership, relationships and support

Phatiswa Sibanda's journey into trade credit was equally unplanned.

She entered the industry through opportunity rather than intention, quickly discovering that succeeding in business required a very different mindset from succeeding academically.

Looking back, she believes the absence of mentorship early in her career was one of her greatest challenges.

Today, she believes success comes from combining analytical thinking with empathy and a genuine willingness to help clients solve problems.

For Chanté Notrem, who now leads a telesales team, relationships sit at the centre of everything she does.

“People often think telesales is simply about making calls,” she explains. “It's really about understanding a client's needs, building trust and creating value.”

Leading and developing her team has become her proudest achievement, reinforcing another common thread running through these stories: true leadership is measured not only by personal success, but by creating opportunities for others to succeed.

Executive assistant Sharmaine Moodley offers another perspective on careers that are often misunderstood.

After more than a decade at Debtsource, she has grown far beyond the traditional perception of an executive assistant.

“People often think the role is just about managing calendars and organising meetings,” she says. “In reality, it's about understanding every part of the business, building trusted relationships and helping keep the organisation moving.”

For Moodley, one of the greatest rewards has been developing relationships across every level of the business and becoming someone colleagues know they can rely on. Her experience reflects the growing importance of adaptability, organisational skills and emotional intelligence in modern organisations.

Communications Coordinator Tiara Pillay believes her department deserves similar recognition.

Too often regarded as a support function, she argues that effective communication and organisational coordination are fundamental to business success.

“These roles shape culture, improve efficiency and strengthen client relationships,” she says. “They have a real impact on how organisations perform.”

Together, these women challenge many of the misconceptions surrounding their professions.

Trade credit is often reduced to debt collection. Compliance is seen as saying “no”. Data is viewed simply as numbers. Telesales is mistaken for making phone calls, while communication and executive support are dismissed as administrative functions.

In reality, each discipline plays an essential role in helping businesses understand risk, make informed decisions and build sustainable commercial relationships.

Debtsource brings these diverse skills together to provide businesses with credit information, monitoring, compliance expertise and data-driven insights. Behind every report, recommendation and client interaction are female professionals whose knowledge, judgement and experience help businesses make smarter decisions every day.