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Up until November 2021, Xolane Ndhlovu was renowned mostly for his philanthropy, aside from being addressed often as “entrepreneur” and “investor,” but the DafriBank LTD chairman and founder of the DafriGroup PLC, has recently become more popular as he joined the elite club of South Africa’s black billionaires, courtesy of his appearance on the global Top 50 Crypto Rich List.
Unlike the usual curiosity that attends the appearance of newcomers on the rich list, the name of Xolane Ndhlovu did not as much raise any doubt or dust, because the DafriBank LTD Chairman was already a household name, frequently associated with Africa’s fastest expanding conglomerate, DafriGroup PLC.
More importantly, his boundless philanthropy has made him more popular as a benevolent man of means.
His philanthropic deeds are well documented, starting with his UMEH Grant (now DafriGroup Grant) which for eight years running (up till now), has impacted considerably the lives of thousands of Africa’s underprivileged. In Nigeria, for instance, DafriBank, in 2020, launched a N100 million bursary for underprivileged school children. In 2018, Ndhlovu donated $20 000 to the Children’s Center in Namibia. In the heat of the Covid-19 lockdown, Xolane Ndhlovu, who was raised by his poor mother, donated half a million rand to the Solidarity Fund set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Recently, he has demonstrated a rare altruistic gesture by donating $1 million (R16.4 million) to Africans in Ukraine affected by Russia’s invasion of the former Soviet country.
Yet, he wasn’t born with a silver spoon. Xolane Ndhlovu, born of a South African mother and Nigerian father, grew up in the dusty streets of Burgersfort, Riba Cross in the valley of Mpumalanga / Limpopo, has a poverty experience. Rising above the hard knock life, he achieved a modest success as a radio disc jockey before his involvement with gangs truncated his progress. Despite serving a jail term, he found his way back to the path of prosperity. Through education and entrepreneurship, he charted his way to greatness, gaining universal recognition as one of the most inspiring black billionaires of South Africa.
