Mamakhoa Gail Motloung

Category
Film & Media

Age
30

Organisation / Company
House of Yadah Publications
Website

Profile

Gail Motloung is a transformational speaker and author. The 30-year-old is the managing director at House of Yadah Publications and has written several books, including Believe You Can, Born for a Greater Purpose Journal and Daddy, I’m Yours.

She is the founder of the Girl with a Purpose Foundation, a South African non-profit organisation that empowers, equips and inspires young women, and runs a casting agency for young, upcoming actors and filmmakers. Gail holds a degree in theology and a diploma in entrepreneurship from the Vaal University of Technology.

A recipient of a 2016 Esther Woman in the Kingdom Award, a 2019 True Shine Award, a 2020 Women of Stature Award and a 2020 Extraordinary Women Award, Gail was also a Mrs South Africa semifinalist in 2018. Last year, she launched a TV show, which she hosts and produces, called Book Shelf, on DStv.

The purpose of this show is to empower self-published authors to get their books out there and also encourage reading and writing. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Gail plans to fulfil her life motto: “If you can see the invisible, you can do the impossible.”

List your educational background - qualifications and institutions?

• Pele Ya Pele Secondary School 2006 to 2010
• River Bible Institute, 2012 to 2014
• Bachelors, Vaal University of Technology, 2019 (6-month course)
• Awarded for Outstanding Performance during the entrepreneurship programme. Came out 2nd academic achiever.

Any awards or achievements in your field?

• Selected as a Mandela Washington Fellow 2021
• Launched my first TV show in 2022
• Extraordinary women award 2020
• 100 most distinguished women in Africa Awards 2021

One childhood memory that has spurred you to such levels of achievement?

Growing up in the township was not easy, as we were exposed to a lot of bad things, but I am grateful for the mentor who took me by the hand and invested her time to guide me. This inspired me to do the same for young girls in my community. Today, I am the founder of the Girl with a Purpose Foundation, a well-recognised NPO which mentors teenage girls.

Advice to your younger self?

Love yourself enough to live in the moment. Care less about what others think about you and focus on becoming the best version of yourself. Sometimes it is scary, I know, but learn to do it afraid.

What would you like South Africa to look like in five years?

To be led by a government that is against corruption. For students to not drop out due to fees.