Two young lives changed by a chance in tech

Two young South Africans stumbled into tech by complete accident. Through Naspers Labs, Zukisa and Sinethemba transformed their lives and are now inspiring others to dream bigger.

Neither of them planned to work in tech. But sometimes the best things happen when you’re not looking for them.

Zukisa Maliwa was eight when he started playing around with electricity in Paarl, Eastern Cape. His parents didn’t quite know what to make of it. “Even my parents got confused on where to take me,” he recalls. About 1,000 kilometres away in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg, Sinethemba Tshabalala was learning about different cultures while living away from her mother for five years. Neither thought much about computers back then.

Both were bright kids with big dreams. Zukisa was good at many things and wanted to become a doctor. Sinethemba also considered medicine, but “it was too limiting for me.” It wasn’t until the age of 19 that Zukisa first used a computer, and even then, “I only started knowing about computers or IT on my first day at university.”

When everything changed

Fast-forward to 2020. While Zukisa was discovering university wasn’t quite what he expected, Sinethemba found herself in that terrifying place every school leaver knows – watching everyone else march off to their futures while she was “stuck there thinking, yo, what’s happening?”

That’s when both started exploring. Sinethemba went looking at different colleges and options. “I was like, I don’t mind computers, so let’s see if I’ll be amazing at it.” As she puts it: “We could say I went into it by accident.” Zukisa’s path was less direct, but it eventually led him to the same realisation – maybe his future wasn’t what he’d originally planned.

Both discovered Naspers Labs programmes, though in different ways. Zukisa found CAPACITI training, while Sinethemba’s lightbulb moment came at her first hackathon in 2022. “First time attending a hackathon and I was like you know what, this feels good. I’m in the right place."

Learning what they didn’t know they needed

For Zukisa, now living in Philippi township in the Western Cape, the CAPACITI training was intense. He learned React and technical skills, plus “solving conflicts” and other life skills. His group attended the AWS training centre, and afterwards, “we were tested based on what we’ve attended and believe me, the training was hard, and the tests were tough.” But Zukisa pushed through: “I made it.”

While Sinethemba’s journey into data science felt more natural after that first hackathon, both faced the same challenge – proving to themselves they belonged in this world. Today, Sinethemba works as a project intern at Mercer, managing student and candidate data. “I essentially make sure that it’s a seamless process for the project as well as the operations team.” The responsibility is real: “If I flop, we all flop.”

Breaking through their own barriers

What’s remarkable is how both had to overcome different types of self-doubt. Zukisa’s was deeply personal: “I’ve always considered myself as someone with limitations, and I've always known that I’m restricted when it comes to my eyesight. But then now I discover that that’s just an illusion.”

For Sinethemba, it was about handling the daily pressures of professional life – “dealing or being able to handle different personalities while also not forgetting or losing a sense of why” she’s doing this work. Both found the strength they didn’t know they had.

Now Zukisa believes: “I can do so much more. I discovered that I should stop listening to what people say when they try to limit me. I’m capable of doing even more great things.” Sinethemba’s confidence has grown, too, and now she’s thinking beyond herself: “I want to be that person for myself that even where there’s a little girl who comes from Ennerdale who’s like me, they can say, ‘That girl did it. I can do it, too.’”

Building futures they never imagined

Zukisa sees himself owning a tech company, while Sinethemba wants to “take it internationally, whether it be within the data science or just data analysis field.” Their individual dreams are big, but what connects them is understanding they’re part of something larger.

Since 2022, Naspers Labs has trained more than 7,000 young people and placed more than 6,000 in jobs. Zukisa and Sinethemba are two of those success stories, but they’re also proof that sometimes getting lost leads you exactly where you need to be. Their accidental discovery of tech has become something much bigger – evidence that with the right opportunity, young South Africans can build futures they never imagined.

Ready to start your own journey? Find out more about Naspers Labs opportunities at naspers.com/naspers-labs.

This post is sponsored by Naspers Labs and produced by Media24 Advertising and Content Marketing for News24.