Busi Skenjana | CEO at BSK Marketing & Associates

With 25 years below the line marketing experience, a passion for Stokvels and as experts in their functioning, BSK Marketing works tirelessly to unlock strategic partnerships between Stokvels and the South African private and public Sector. 
At the heart of BSK Marketing is the need to create and provide environments for the consumer and brands to interact and connect in an way that is both meaningful and valuable to both parties.  With humble beginnings in the FMCG retail environment BSK Marketing began its long path to success by making use of a previously untapped and valuable market segment – namely the Stokvel.  
As iXhesha Marketing Ms Busi Skenjana identified an interesting gap in the current market thinking – township orientated experiential marketing; making use of Stokvels as vehicles for direct interaction with brands all within the township-community environment.  This community felt sidelined within the typical classical marketing communication touchpoint paradigm and relied on heritage knowledge when making brand decisions. 
iXhesha Marketing acknowledged this weakness in the process and brought brands into the community, leveraging Stokvels in order to engage and educate community leaders.  This interaction evolved into the acknowledgment that the Stokvel was more than a means to an end but a considerable and lucrative market unto itself. Stokvels became the Market. 
iXhesha Marketing was bought out by one of the markets leading players and Ms Busi went on to start BSK Marketing in 2002.   As BSK Marketing; we still believe our primary channel is stokvel experiencial activations, we have also developed increasingly complex community based events that bring together multiple stokvel entities creating memorable and diverse brand activations. 
Fortified with specialist knowledge and understanding of the inner working of Stokvels, BSK Marketing leverage their diverse set of skills to unlock strategic partnerships between Stokvels and the South African private and public Sector.

I Am Driven By | Passion for working with Stokvels. Every day I feel I am getting closer to my ultimate BIG DREAM..

My Highlights | Writing one of my Honours exams in 1984 3 days after giving birth to my daughter.  Making a Difference in the lives of stokvel members that I have interacted with over the past years.

A Key Talent | I am no different from many other highly successful people who are driven by passion, dedication, sacrifice and desire to leave a legacy for generations to come. It is critical to have a clear VISION of what you want to achieve in life and WORKING VERY HARD to achieve that.

Principles I Live By | Making a difference in other people’s lives. Being humble.  Honesty.

Critical Skills I Develop | Reading, Reading, Unlimited quest to know more about my industry.

How I Use My Mind | I am a very optimistic and positive person… Challenges in life do not have a permanent space in my life.  Challenges, to me are like frost that disappears as the sun rises.

Lessons I Have Learnt | Every situation in life is a school.   My favourite question from me to me is: What have I learnt from this situation, no matter how challenging it could be.

Dealing With Doubt | Yes there are times when I feel overwhelmed by the lack of resources in my work.. But I am fortunate in that I am always quick to look for solutions as opposed to resigning myself to the helpless situation.

Resources I Use To Stay Inspired | Books! Business Magazines and listening to people from all levels of life.

My Future Dreams And Ambitions | I would like to see Stokvel Academy Institution being National. I am more passionate about the development of stokvels in South Africa.

The Best Advice I’ve Received | Education is a lifetime inheritance.

Advice On Building Wealth | Have a clear Vision! Work Hard!
I Am Inspired By | Oprah Winfrey, Raymond Ackerman, The Gobodo-Ntsaluba Auditing Firm founders.

The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | Creating a stokvel community that builds wealth for themselves as opposed to being just consumers of goods and services.