We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mmabatho Montse a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Mmabatho thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I am Mmabatho Montse, a social entrepreneur, scholar, and visionary committed to reimagining the economic, social, and spiritual frameworks that shape our interconnected world. As a radical innovator of an old/new worldview, I challenge entrenched systems of injustice—legal yet profoundly inequitable—that continue to perpetuate the economic dispossession of South Africa’s majority and BIPOC communities globally. My mission is to uplift alternative economic models rooted in community, reciprocity, and care, championing regenerative and cooperative systems over the extraction and exploitation that define capitalism. This vision is aligned with the growing global recognition that our current economic system is not only unsustainable but actively harmful. Across the world, movements are advancing cooperative and regenerative economics to foster futures centered on care, creativity, and shared prosperity. My work integrates these global insights with African philosophies of interconnectedness, offering a framework to address structural inequalities and guide transformative change.
Land is central to this vision, not as a commodified resource but as a sacred foundation for identity, culture, and community. Its dispossession has caused deep injustices and hindered economic freedom for marginalized communities. Restoring connections to the land and embracing its cultural and ecological significance is essential for fostering equitable opportunities and intergenerational growth.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My entrepreneurial journey began in my early twenties with ventures ranging from selling imported clothing from Turkey to operating a work-placement agency for lower-income workers. These formative experiences culminated in the founding of a luxury boutique travel company, which was later acquired by a family business. This phase taught me how to translate creative ideas into impactful businesses while navigating the complexities of growth and systemic inequities. During nearly a decade as a quick-service restaurant franchisee, I honed leadership, financial management, and operational skills while working closely with young Black individuals from underprivileged backgrounds. Simultaneously, I founded Tea Tree & Co., an interior décor studio based in Johannesburg that celebrated African-inspired arts and crafts. Collaborating with Johannesburg based migrant artists from across the continent, I provided retail platforms, guided pricing strategies, and facilitated international residencies.
Reflecting on these experiences, I encountered distinct yet interconnected challenges. Mentoring young South Africans through my businesses and non-profit organisation, highlighted the urgent need for systems that foster dignity and opportunity, while working with migrant artists showcased the resilience and creativity that flourish despite marginalization. Together, these experiences deepened my commitment to frameworks that holistically honor people, culture, and place. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, marked a pivotal turning point with the closure of Tea Tree & Co. This deepened my understanding of systemic inequities, particularly the barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs navigating an economic landscape dominated by white-owned capital.
These experiences have fueled my drive to reimagine economic systems that center equity, creativity, and sustainability — reinforcing my commitment to reindigenisation as a transformative approach to building sustainable and just economies. Rooted in Indigenous principles such as reciprocity, care, and interconnectedness, this perspective challenges the extractive ethos of modern systems and instead prioritizes stewardship, relationality, and communal well-being. At its core, reindigenisation centers land as a sacred foundation for identity, culture, and ecology. Reclaiming our connection to land enables balance between people and the ecosystems that sustain us. It offers not just a framework for justice but a vision for healing and intergenerational resilience.
Through the Spherical Guide approach, I offer services designed to address modern complexities and inspire transformational change. This approach nurtures resilience by combining principles, processes, and tools that emphasize interconnectedness, adaptability, and holistic solutions:
• Spherical Explorations: One-on-one healing journeys addressing ancestral trauma, fostering ecological awareness, and reconnecting with Indigenous wisdom. These sessions create space for personal transformation rooted in relationality and introspection.
• Spherical Leadership and Self-Mastery: Empowering ethical leaders to adopt regenerative practices and relational ethics, equipping them to lead with integrity, inclusivity, and foresight.
• Conscious Conversations Podcast: A platform for meaningful dialogue on decoloniality, intergenerational healing, and ecological justice, inspiring collective reimagination and shared learning.
• Community of Practice: A dynamic collective of Transformative Seekers, Ethical Leaders, Culturally Conscious Creators, and Community Collaborators. This space bridges Indigenous wisdom and global innovation, fostering solidarity and collaboration to co-create systems of equity and sustainability.
By integrating spherical guiding principles, these services provide the language, models, and tools necessary to reshape personal and collective spheres into systems that prioritize equity, liberation, and wholeness.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A key lesson I had to unlearn was that success is linear and measurable solely by conventional milestones. Influenced by my work with marginalized communities, I’ve come to see success as relational, cyclical, and rooted in legacy. From a spherical perspective, success begins with asking: “What shape are we in? What shape do we need to be? And what do we need to do to get in shape?” It’s about reshaping ourselves and the systems we are part of to foster collective growth and transformation.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
My thinking is deeply influenced by works that interrogate dominant paradigms of transformation and invite us into radical reimagining. Dr. Bayo Akomolafe’s work, particularly his postactivist approach in We Will Dance with Mountains,frames transformation as an adventure of reconnecting with a ‘world’ that is vibrant, alive, and participatory—no longer seen as dormant or passive. His approach encourages us to co-create new practices of place-making in partnership with the more-than-human world, by coming to new senses and embracing the relational complexity of our times. Dr. R. Michael Fisher’s Fearlessness Philosophy complements this ethos by addressing how fear underpins the systems and structures that dictate our responses to crises. Fisher’s work uncovers the invisible dynamics of fear, which is often weaponized within the “colonial matrix of power” to inhibit collective autonomy, solidarity, and imagination. By mapping the spectrum of fear responses and contrasting them with fearlessness, he provides a framework for transcending fear-driven narratives and nurturing ecosystems of courage, ethical responsibility, and liberation.
Both philosophies resonate deeply with my own African cosmology, which embraces the interconnectedness of all life-forms. They provide a rich intellectual framework that strengthens my own offerings and perspectives. Rooted in Ubuntu and Seriti, I view transformation as an ongoing relational practice that honors the sacred bonds between humans, ancestors, and the more-than-human world.
These ideas align with other influential works, such as Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves, which reconnects us with the wild, instinctual self, and Neale Donald Walsch’s When Everything Changes, Change Everything,which repositions disruption as an entry point for profound growth. Elaine Scarry’s The Body in Pain further deepens my understanding of the intersections of trauma, power, and healing.
At the heart of it all, I return to the wisdom of my ancestors and visionaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Biko, Harriet Tubman, and Bessie Head. Their legacies ground me in Ubuntu, Seriti, and the interconnectedness of all life. As Bayo Akomolafe reminds us, “the way we face crises is part of the problem.” It is through slowing down, weaving connections, and dancing with complexity that we can begin to reimagine and co-create a world where transformation is a collective journey, rooted in shared heritage and a vibrant partnership with the living world.
Among the most profound influences in my life is my mother, Motshidisi Montse, a woman who, despite being considered uneducated, embodied unparalleled courage and resilience. Her strength and bravery are woven into the fabric of who I am, grounding me in the power of heritage, humility, and the ability to thrive in the face of adversity.
Influenced by Alice Walker’s wisdom on being a “good ancestor” and my work with marginalized communities, I have come to see success as relational, cyclical, and rooted in legacy. True success lies in creating systems that uplift not just individuals but entire communities, contributing to a larger ecosystem of justice, well-being, and interconnected growth.
The Spherical Guide approach envisions a global paradigm for transformation, where communities honor Indigenous worldviews, ethical relationality, and innovation to reimagine how we live, lead, and connect. The sphere is both a symbol and a practice—a way of seeing and being that honors the multidimensionality of life. It reminds us that “we see the world not as it is, but as we are,” and that reshaping ourselves allows us to reshape the world.
To learn more about my work or explore the Spherical Guide approach, visit www.montsem.com. Together, we can harmonize our spheres and contribute to a more just and interconnected world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.montsem.com
- Instagram: msmontsem
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmabathomontse
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@consciousconversationswithmm?si=AlSZsnllG-26fyH4
- Other: https://iono.fm/c/7406
