A Childhood that Forged Steel
In rural Gutu, Dr. Divine Simbi Ndhlukula grew up walking dusty roads between mission schools, often wading across the Ndengere River on her way home. Every week, she waited eagerly for the newspapers her father brought back from the city, reading headlines aloud and working through stories with a dictionary at hand. These rituals fueled her love of learning and convinced her that knowledge could lift anyone beyond their circumstances. She left Gutu carrying three anchors: grit, curiosity, and a resolve to excel.
Early steps and entrepreneurial spark
After attending schools such as St Dominic’s and Makumbe, the road led her to Harare, where she pursued accounting. She joined the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, then Old Mutual as an accounting officer, and later Intermarket in marketing. Yet her entrepreneurial spirit had long been awake. From selling clothes to colleagues at work to running canteens in Harare’s industrial areas, she turned every workplace into a classroom. These ventures taught her how systems function, how they break down, and how value is created.
Saving the family farm, building SECURICO
When family land risked being lost as collateral, she stepped in to save it and rebuilt it as Zvikomborero Farms, now a model in livestock production and training. In 1998, she entered the security sector, founding SECURICO to professionalise an industry that undervalued its people. The company set new benchmarks with ISO certifications and became a pioneer in gender inclusion. By 2012, SECURICO employed over 900 women, with women leading across management and director levels.
Writing lessons
Her debut book, Entrepreneurial Success: Insights on Growing Business in a Fluid Economy, captures decades of building resilient businesses in tough markets. Blending stories from SECURICO and Zvikomborero Farms, it shows how discipline, process, and mindset drive sustainable growth. The book won the 2025 NAMA Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction.
A New Chapter in Higher Education
In August 2025, Dr. Divine Simbi Ndhlukula was appointed Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa. It is a full-circle role that unites her passions: education, empowerment, and building institutions. Today, she balances her commitments as business leader, farmer, philanthropist, author, committed family person, and now Chancellor, reinforcing the other, all driven by the same mission: to create pathways for others to rise.
Awards, accolades, and positions of leadership
Over the years, Dr. Divine Simbi Ndhlukula has been recognised locally and internationally for her leadership and impact.
Selected honours include:
- Empretec Entrepreneur of the Year (2001)
- Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, Grand Prize (2011), chosen from 3,400 entries across 52 African countries
- EY Exceptional Entrepreneur of the Year, Southern Africa (2014)
- UNCTAD/Empretec Top Ten Global Women in Business (2014)
- Forbes Woman Africa Businesswoman of the Year (2019)
- JA Global Business Hall of Fame Inductee (2021)
- Business Excellence Hall of Fame (2023) Positions of leadership held:
- Founding Trustee and Chairperson of the Women Owned Business Trust (WOBT), supporting women to grow their enterprises by linking them to corporate supply chains
- President of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), where she pioneered the establishment of the Women’s Desk
- Founding Member and Chairperson of the Goat Breeders Association of Zimbabwe
- Trustee and President of PROWEB
- Active member of global associations such as Women Presidents Organization and Lionesses of Africa
The Standard 14 September 2025
