- Ratile says she found her voice in the second season of The Mommy Club.
- Her role in pageantry and as a director for Miss Tembisa has given her courage to stand up for herself.
- Her interests in entrepreneurship sparked a start-up toolkit for aspiring businesswomen.
Ratile Mabitsela’s first appearance on South Africa’s screens for season one of The Mommy Club gave little of the ambitions and drive the director of Miss Tembisa possesses.
From pageant queen and reality star to leading the young women of the very township she hails from, there’s layers to Ratile that have yet to be discovered.
Raising three children with her husband amidst the whirlwind of social media storms, surviving the loss of her beloved grandmother while feeding into her creative and entrepreneurial passions she gave TRUELOVE a glimpse into the real world of Ratile Mabitsela.
Personal growth in front of the camera
It’s no secret the polarising views many reality show watchers hold over Ratile from her time on their screens.
The 33-year-old reveals what she’s learnt about herself over her time on The Mommy Club.
“When it comes to reality TV, it will definitely also not just play on your strengths, but also highlights your weaknesses. And I think part of the weaknesses I think that were also easily shown in season one was that it was very difficult for me to stand up for myself. I would rather walk away, and I cry so easily, it comes so naturally.
“But I kind of felt like, okay season two I’m put in the jungle, and I had to find a way to survive and I think in me finding a way to survive, I found my voice. I found what I stand for and boldly talk about it. And, ja, I’ve realised that a big part of it has to do with family and a big part of it has to do with marriage because a lot of people really believe in perfection or maybe it’s how we gracefully carry our problems.”
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The mom of three say that she has evolved from the avoidant nature that growing up being bullied had placed on her. And it goes without saying how going from public stages like Miss Tembisa and The Mommy Club helped Ratile in coming out of her shell.
A pageant queen with her heart in philanthropy
Since taking over the Miss Tembisa brand as a director in 2019 and venturing into the podcast space with her series Uncomfortable Conversations, Ratile has become a driving force in promoting the development of her fellow community members.
“I’ve grown so much from pageantry. I’ve broken out of being this person who is so closed in, who is not so confident and it really did open greener pastures for me in terms of the kind of person that I am today. It paved such a way for me, and I’d love to see that happening with other women in Tembisa,” Ratile shares.
Ratile has witnessed heart wrenching scenes of young girls falling victim to gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy in the very community she grew up in. This urged her to create an information portal tailored for women aspiring to become successful entrepreneurs – the Be Your Own Boss Toolkit.
Big boss moves for all
Through the hardships of the women she sees in her hometown, Ratile hopes to use the Be Your Own Boss Toolkit as a platform for young women to understand every aspect of the business they hope to get into.
Many of these soft skills like networking, communication and leadership aren’t made readily available for everyone who may not have the means for formal education.
The toolkit offers real-world business advice and covers important steps like business registration, brainstorming, market research and more.
“If you don’t get a job, I think you should have a plan of how you could start your own business,” Ratile says. “Whatever that is, I really believe that everyone is gifted. Everyone has a gift to give that really requires not necessarily a certain qualification to a certain extent. I really believe that hands can come up with magic. If you let them, they will work for you.”
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The entrepreneur and business and fashion enthusiast attributes her ambition to not only the Mzansi powerhouse women like Connie Ferguson and Basetsana Kumalo, but also to the matriarchs of her family.
She tells us, “I’ve also seen my grandmother, my mother, how they’ve just made the situation work. How they’ve just made us grow into the people that we are today. Like me and my siblings are like the perfect representation of what they had to do to just make us grow up to what we are today and, ja, I’m really inspired.”
