After collecting four awards in 2026, landing the role of Phiwe in e.tv’s new telenovela Land of Mills and Money, and building a thriving company, actor and singer Nelisiwe Sibiya says she feels as though nothing can stop her.
“This is only the start,” she says, describing her current season as the fulfilment of a prayer she once made.
Nelisiwe also shared an Instagram post during the conversation.
Building a business beyond acting
In addition to her screen career, Nelisiwe is now an award-recognised entrepreneur. She owns Emandulo House, a venture inspired in part by her childhood experience. Her family ran a tuck shop while she was growing up, and that environment helped shape her commercial instincts.
“Business has always excited me,” she explains. “I sold everything from sweets to amagwinya, or fatcakes. I have always found ways to create an income stream for myself outside my main work.”
Another Instagram post from Nelisiwe was featured alongside the story.
With South Africa’s entertainment sector offering little stability and performers often struggling to find regular employment, Nelisiwe views entrepreneurship as more than an expression of her love for culture and heritage. It also gives her a measure of financial protection.
“Creatives need to develop other interests and sources of income,” she says. “The reality is that this industry is extremely difficult. It is demanding and highly competitive.”
Keeping Emandulo House private
- Nelisiwe launched Emandulo House in 2020 but deliberately chose not to publicise the business for several years.
- She recently received a runner-up prize in the Crafters category at the Durban Tourism Business Awards.
- The recognition brought fresh attention to the company, which she had largely kept away from the public eye.
“I want people to recognise me for what I do professionally,” she says. “I would rather keep the other parts of my life private. I made a conscious effort to separate myself from my businesses because privacy can be powerful. It really does have strength.”
A further Instagram post from Nelisiwe appeared as part of the feature.
Faith, grief and an emotional new chapter
Although she has managed to make progress in a demanding field, Nelisiwe admits that the scale of her recent success can feel frightening and difficult to process.
“What is happening in my life at the moment feels overwhelming,” she says. She credits her faith and her ancestors for helping her reach this point, adding that God and her ancestors “have been incredibly good” to her.
Her greatest sadness is that she cannot celebrate these milestones with either of her late parents. “This was a dream that belonged to my parents and me,” she says. “When my mother was alive, she would often tell me that I was destined to become someone important.”
Nelisiwe’s Emandulo House achievement was also highlighted in connection with her Durban Tourism Business Awards recognition.
A message for young women from rural communities
Looking back, Nelisiwe says many creatives endure private struggles that are invisible to the public. Those challenges can leave people questioning their value, particularly when they come from rural backgrounds.
“There are countless things happening behind the scenes that can make a creative lose faith and feel inferior,” she says. “I came from a rural home and had very little growing up. I used to tell myself that I would never become anything. When I look at my life now, I can only say that God’s love is clear.”
She ends with encouragement for young women who see themselves in her story.
“To every young girl, and especially every young woman from a rural home, let this be a prophecy and evidence that it can be done,” she says.
“This is my moment,” Nelisiwe concludes.
