BACKSTORY: Maria Makhabane of Discovery Health

Maria Makhabane, Chief growth officer at Discovery Health 

What’s your one top tip for doing a deal? 

Find out what really matters to your counterparty. 

What was your first job? 

In my last few years at university in Cape Town I was an accounting tutor by day and a bartender at a salsa bar by night.

If you could fix only one thing in South Africa, what would it be? 

Improve the quality of maths education at all levels. I’m deeply passionate about this and have the privilege of serving on the South African Mathematics Foundation’s board.   

What’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know? 

People are often surprised that I am fluent in Polish.

What’s the worst investment mistake you’ve made? 

Backing the wrong entrepreneur in an early-stage start-up. Always trust your gut.  

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? And how much of it was due to luck? 

The luck was having an entrepreneurial high school friend that I had zero doubts about investing with. He’s now built a leading global jewellery marketplace that’s grown beyond my wildest imagination.  

What’s the best book you’ve read recently and why did you like it? 

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr Seuss. It’s the perfect book to read during a life transition such as taking on a new job, becoming a new mom or having another child, celebrating milestone birthdays and so on. And it’s a great bedtime story for my kids.

What is the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt? 

The importance of stepping back (to reflect and recharge) in order to accelerate and turbocharge. 

What phrase or bit of jargon irks you most? 

“Let’s circle back.” No thanks, I’d prefer we close off on this now.

What is something you would go back and tell your younger self that would impress them? 

I’ve always been very career-orientated. My younger self certainly believed that there would have to be a trade-off between career advancement and building a family. The reality that’s played out as chief growth officer at Discovery Health and a mom of three little ones under five couldn’t be more different.

If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow? 

I’d launch an extensive, countrywide teacher training initiative. Our skill base needs to structurally shift to access South Africa’s enormous human capital advantage. And this needs to begin with the teachers who educate our population.