{"id":2576,"date":"2026-07-02T21:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/cape-town-founder-nadia-jaftha-says-dont-hide-your-identity-to-go-global\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T21:38:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:38:40","slug":"cape-town-founder-nadia-jaftha-says-dont-hide-your-identity-to-go-global","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/cape-town-founder-nadia-jaftha-says-dont-hide-your-identity-to-go-global\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Town Founder Nadia Jaftha Says Don\u2019t Hide Your Identity to Go Global"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, many young creatives in South Africa have been handed the same quiet instruction: if you want to succeed internationally, you should shrink your identity and blend into someone else\u2019s template. Nadia Jaftha, a Cape Town entrepreneur and co-founder of Ace Labs, says she never accepted that idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, there\u2019s been a storyline that you need to soften your identity or imitate global stereotypes to win on the world stage,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut the global market rewards authenticity. We\u2019re making sure the next generation doesn\u2019t have to doubt whether this career path is real\u2014because they\u2019ll be busy building it themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

That belief has now received a major international stamp of approval. Ace Labs\u2014an intelligence lab that Jaftha co-founded with her fianc\u00e9 and business partner Reece Meyer\u2014was recently invited to the TikTok Global Partner Summit in New York. For a digital agency based in South Africa, the invitation is being viewed as one of the most notable international recognitions it can receive.<\/p>\n

The New York invite put the Cape Town-born team in the same room as TikTok\u2019s worldwide industry leadership. For Jaftha, it felt less like a trophy moment and more like a mission statement landing in real time.<\/p>\n

The Ace Labs push toward authenticity<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Jaftha says the path to that New York stage began with a frustration she couldn\u2019t ignore: South African brands were finding it difficult to connect in a way that felt genuinely local.<\/li>\n
  2. At the same time, she observed that many talented creators already had influence, yet often lacked the organisational and strategic structure needed to turn that creative power into long-term results.<\/li>\n
  3. In her view, brands were seeking cultural relevance in a country with nuance, but struggled to work within creator culture without losing authenticity.<\/li>\n
  4. She adds that exceptional talent could reach audiences, but frequently didn\u2019t have the strategic infrastructure to convert that creativity into lasting value and revenue.<\/li>\n
  5. Ace Labs was created to bridge that divide\u2014working in its fourth year to help brands build creator-led campaigns grounded in cultural understanding, rather than chasing borrowed trends.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ace Labs has since partnered with major names including Capitec, PayJustNow, and HUAWEI. Jaftha points to the agency\u2019s collaboration with Capitec as especially important to Ace Labs\u2019 momentum\u2014an element she says ultimately helped make the TikTok summit invitation possible.<\/p>\n

    But the recognition isn\u2019t only framed as a milestone for the company. Jaftha sees it as evidence of a larger shift.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat we\u2019ve built is an ecosystem\u2014a creative hub where South African talent can access global opportunities without sacrificing their home-grown voice,\u201d she says. \u201cThe global market doesn\u2019t need us to be less South African. It needs us to be more of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

    How the founders\u2019 relationship shaped the agency<\/h2>\n

    The personal story behind Ace Labs adds another layer to the business narrative. Jaftha and Meyer\u2014who are engaged\u2014built the company while growing their relationship. The overlap between their complementary strengths, according to colleagues, made them a strong professional match as well as a close personal team. Staff members say that chemistry shows up in the way the agency operates.<\/p>\n

    Kayla, a brand strategist at Ace Labs, describes the internal culture as fast-moving and focused.<\/p>\n

    \u201cReece and Nadia have built a team culture that\u2019s dynamic, quick on its feet, and fully committed,\u201d she says. \u201cThey make even the biggest goals feel achievable, stay grounded under pressure, map out the steps clearly, and put the right resources behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n

    For teammate Resh, the New York moment carried an emotional significance that went beyond business performance.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt created a real feeling of being genuinely seen\u2014showing that work developed in Cape Town can sit alongside global industry leaders while still being authentically South African,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    Ultimately, Jaftha hopes the message lasts longer than any summit invite or client list. Her goal is for young South African creators to hear something different from what they\u2019ve been told before\u2014that there\u2019s no need to sand down their edges just to be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe next generation doesn\u2019t have to question the legitimacy of this career path,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019ll be too busy leading it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    For years, many young creatives in South Africa have been handed the same quiet instruction: if you want to succeed internationally, you should shrink your identity and blend into someone else\u2019s template. Nadia Jaftha, a Cape Town entrepreneur and co-founder of Ace Labs, says she never accepted that idea. \u201cFor too long, there\u2019s been a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Cape Town Entrepreneur Nadia Jaftha on Global Identity","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Cape Town entrepreneur Nadia Jaftha on why you should never hide your identity to go global\u2014and how staying authentic can fuel int","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-celebrities"],"yoast_head":"\nCape Town Entrepreneur Nadia Jaftha on Global Identity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cape Town entrepreneur Nadia Jaftha on why 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Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}