Charmaine Mabuza, CEO of ITHUBA Group, has been named Business Woman of the Year at the 19th Annual Premier Black Business Quarterly Awards. The award recognises female business leaders who display elements of original entrepreneurship and leadership evident by diversification and innovation, as well as involvement in socio-economic development initiatives. Mabuza's accolades over the years demonstrate her commitment to these qualities, including her role as the first black female CEO to be awarded the license to operate the National Lottery in South Africa in 2015.

Under Mabuza's leadership, ITHUBA has transformed the National Lottery into a digitally-driven organisation by implementing an integrated solution across multiple platforms. This has expanded the playing options available to players, including a mobile app, and increased accessibility through partnerships with multiple banking institutions. Additionally, Mabuza has received numerous prestigious awards over the years, including the Vision 2030 Top Woman in Education Award, Forbes Africa Social Impact Award (2020), CEO of the Year, and Outstanding Women Leadership Award at the Africa Leadership Awards 2021.

Mabuza's passion for gaming spills over into areas such as socio-economic development, and she has set up a series of social corporate responsibility projects, including housing projects for staff members, food parcel distribution drives, and the ITHUBA Bursary, which caters to students from underprivileged backgrounds. Other programmes she established at ITHUBA include the Supplier Enterprise Development programme (SED) and the Female Retailer Development programme, designed to empower women in business.

Mabuza's success is a result of her hard work, determination, and boldness to break the ceiling. As Group CEO of ITHUBA, she plans to continue growing as an entrepreneur and an internationally recognised businesswoman. Her story highlights the power of opportunity, support, hard work, resilience, creativity, and feminine energy.

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