The SAVEDpreneur™ Spotlight: Sam Gqomo, Founder of Womandla Global

Growing up, people called Sam Gqomo “Oprah.” At the time it felt casual. Looking back, she recognizes it was prophetic. Today, as the founder of Womandla Global, she builds platforms, amplifies voices, and creates pathways for women and youth across South Africa and beyond to access opportunities that change the trajectory of their lives. Her mandate is rooted in Isaiah 61 and her method is simple: treat people well, lead with compassion, and let the work speak before the words do. Sam is a servant leader, a storyteller, and a social entrepreneur who understands that decisions determine destiny.

Let's lean in.

Tell us who you are and what is your God-driven purpose?

Who I am is a servant leader, storyteller, builder, and social entrepreneur called to use media, influence, education, and community development as tools for transformation. My God-given purpose is to bring visibility, dignity, healing, opportunity, and hope to people who feel unseen, unheard, or forgotten. Through both business and philanthropy, I am called to amplify voices, develop people, build impactful platforms, and create pathways for women and youth to access opportunities that can change the trajectory of their lives.

At the heart of it all, my purpose is rooted in obedience: to serve where God leads, to build what He entrusts to me, and to use every gift, platform, and partnership for His glory and the betterment of others.

What was your first encounter with God and how did you know you were saved?

My first real encounter with God happened during my varsity years. Although I grew up in church and was heavily influenced by my mother’s faith, much of my earlier relationship with God came through routine, structure, and obligation. I attended church, served, and had given my life to Christ, but I had not yet fully encountered Him for myself in a deeply personal way.

That changed during a difficult season in my life when things were not going according to my plans. Relationships were falling apart, there was uncertainty around my future, and I was wrestling with the desire to become an entrepreneur while trying to understand who I truly was. In that season, I encountered God intimately and personally, not through religion or routine, but through genuine surrender and relationship. That encounter transformed me completely. It deepened my intimacy with God, strengthened my conviction about how I wanted to live my life, and shifted my understanding of purpose and identity.

From that point onward, my relationship with God became real, personal, and transformative. It shaped the way I lead, serve, build, and discern. Over time, I also began to understand the prophetic gifting on my life: the ability to see beyond the immediate, discern people and purpose deeply, and speak life, vision, and encouragement into others and situations. That gift has become part of how I lead, build, and serve today.

Success in the Kingdom looks different from the success of the world. How do you explain the difference?

Worldly success is often measured by material possessions, status, visibility, influence, and who knows your name. It can become deeply self-centered, where achievement is tied to personal recognition, power, and accumulation. The world often celebrates hustle culture, performance, and outward success, even at the expense of peace, family, health, or purpose.

Kingdom success, however, is rooted in obedience, humility, stewardship, and bringing glory back to God in all that you do. It is understanding that your gifts, opportunities, influence, and even your success are entrusted to you by God and are meant to serve others, not simply elevate yourself. There is a deep sense of privilege in being chosen, guided, pruned, and refined by God, even through painful seasons, because those seasons develop your character and align you with purpose.

I have personally had to unlearn certain ideas around hustle culture and constant striving. There were moments where I thought productivity alone defined success, when in reality God was calling me into seasons of rest, learning, yielding, and spiritual growth. I am still learning the tension between ambition and surrender, between building faithfully and trusting God’s timing and cadence for my life. Kingdom prosperity is not wrong, but I believe it carries responsibility. The success and wealth of a Kingdom builder should ultimately benefit and uplift others. That is what makes it beautiful and purposeful.

If you could partner with anyone to fulfill your vision, who would you work with and why?

If I could partner with anyone to fulfill the vision God has entrusted to me, it would be Trevor Noah. Firstly, there is a cultural connection because his mother is Xhosa, as I am, and there is something powerful about seeing people from similar roots carry a global mandate with excellence and authenticity. Secondly, Trevor Noah has an extraordinary global platform and audience, but despite his international success, he has remained deeply passionate about South Africa, its people, and its development. That alignment matters to me because the vision God gave me is both local and global.

At Womandla, our slogan is “Womandla to the World,” and that speaks directly to the kind of impact I believe in: building global partnerships and influence while remaining deeply connected to the needs, beauty, and potential of our country. Trevor Noah represents that balance well. He uses storytelling, media, humor, intellect, and cultural influence to create conversations that matter, and I believe a partnership rooted in development, education, youth empowerment, and African storytelling could create meaningful and lasting impact.

What does being a SAVEDpreneur™ mean to you? What is your kingdom assignment and how are you carrying out your assignment now?

Being a SAVEDpreneur™ means operating from a place of integrity, excellence, and Kingdom order. For me, it is not necessarily about loudly professing Christianity through company slogans or values on a wall, but rather about embodying Christ-like leadership in how I treat people, lead teams, and steward opportunities. It means practicing servant leadership the way Jesus did: leading with compassion, grace, humility, and a teachable spirit, while still upholding excellence, accountability, and honesty. I believe people should feel those values before they ever hear them spoken.

My Kingdom assignment has become clearer over time through my growth in Christ, leadership, and serving people. At its core, my assignment is obedience to the vision God entrusted to me and having the faith to see it unfold, even when the full picture is not always clear. I have learned that purpose is not always revealed through perfect business plans or certainty, but through spiritual sensitivity, discernment, and being willing to serve where God leads.

This assignment is deeply rooted in Isaiah 61:1-2. God called me to use media, storytelling, education, and community impact to bring hope, healing, visibility, and empowerment to people who are often overlooked. Through both my PR agency and philanthropic work, I help amplify the voices of women, youth, innovators, and unsung heroes. Whether through campaigns, skills development programs, partnerships, or advocacy, the mission has always been about restoring dignity, unlocking opportunity, and helping people believe that their circumstances do not define their future.

I believe much of the captivity people experience today is mental, emotional, and economic. Through access to education, storytelling, mentorship, and community, lives and entire communities can change. God called me to build as a social entrepreneur: someone who uses both business and philanthropy as vehicles for impact.

At the beginning, I did not fully understand the scope of the calling. Looking back now, I can see signs of it even in my childhood.

Growing up, people often referred to me as “Oprah” because of my personality, communication style, and love for people and media. At the time it felt casual, but now I recognize that it was prophetic in many ways, because so much of my life today revolves around storytelling, empowerment, leadership, and impact.

What did God call you to build, and how did you know? What steps did you take to be obedient? How quickly did it take you to answer the call?

My obedience journey was not immediate. It came through a season of grief, loss, and deep personal hardship. Those experiences became the catalyst that pushed me to fully pursue purpose and stop living fearfully. They reminded me how temporary life is and gave me the boldness to live intentionally, lead courageously, and build something meaningful. That season gave me the courage to leave what was comfortable and step into entrepreneurship and nonprofit work, even without certainty. I answered the call when I realized that staying where I was would have been disobedience to what God was stirring within me.

Where did obedience cost you something—money, time, identity, approval? And how did you handle the tension?

Obedience has absolutely cost me something. It has cost me comfort, relationships, approval, and at times even parts of my identity that I thought defined me. There were seasons where people did not understand the direction God was leading me in, and that created distance in friendships and relationships. Obedience can be lonely because not everyone has the spiritual capacity to understand what God is doing in your life while it is still unfolding.

There were also moments of isolation where I felt stripped of external validation and had to rely completely on God for strength, wisdom, and affirmation. It has also cost me time and, in many ways, aspects of my youth. While many people were exploring life differently, I often carried responsibility, vision, and leadership from a young age. I have always been described as wise beyond my years, an old soul, and because of that, much of my life has been shaped by mentorship, purpose, and service rather than simply chasing temporary things.

Yet even in the sacrifice, I see God’s faithfulness.

Every difficult season strengthened my conviction, refined my character, and prepared me to lead with greater wisdom, compassion, and resilience.

Give us one power sentence we can use to quote you.

“Decisions determine destiny.”

What upcoming projects are you working on that you want our readers to know about?

One of the ongoing projects I am most excited about is the launch of the WRRA (Womandla Reskilling Revolution Africa). program, an initiative designed to empower 10,000 women and youth across South Africa with access to global digital skills through the IBM SkillsBuild platform.

This pilot directly addresses one of the country’s greatest challenges: youth unemployment. We believe that access to quality education and future-focused skills should not be limited by geography or economic circumstances. Through this program, participants will receive free online education, internationally recognized accreditation, and exposure to opportunities that extend beyond our borders.

More than just skills training, WRRA is about restoring hope, building confidence, and creating pathways toward economic empowerment and global participation. We want young people and women to understand that they are capable of competing, contributing, and thriving in the global digital economy. This initiative represents the heart of our mission: combining education, innovation, and impact to create sustainable change in communities across South Africa.

What is the best way for our readers to keep up with you?

Instagram: @sam_gqomo

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/samkelwegqomo

Website: www.womandlaglobal.com