Things are slowly changing, but the wine industry is still male-dominated, says Koni Maliehe, owner and founder of Western Cape-based Koni Wines.

Being faced with both gender and race barriers tends to push women entrepreneurs to embrace creativity to drive business success. “We need to be assertive. We can still be compassionate while driving hard results.”

Maliehe, who had already been selling her wines online before the pandemic, switched her focus and increased her social media presence when COVID-19 and the resultant levels of lockdown hit the wine industry hard.

Guest on the line: Koni Maliehe, owner and founder of Western Cape-based Koni Wines.