Taponeswa Mavunga has a lot to celebrate. Just last year, she was named on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour Power List for her contributions to the music industry. She’s credited as a driving force behind the international success of Afrobeats, and – having started out as a receptionist at Warner Music back in the early 2000s – she’s risen through the ranks to become one of the most influential women in Britain’s music industry today. But it’s the people, from friends to colleagues to family, that really give her cause for celebration …
On the power of female friendship: ‘that, to me, is the lifeblood’
“I was very used to being the only black person in the room, as well as the only woman,” says Mavunga, reflecting on her early years in the music industry. But, she says, her network of “strong, female friendships” – both inside and outside the industry – provided unwavering support and inspiration.
There’s best friend of over 25 years, Natasha Sackey, who works as a dance movement therapist, and broadcast journalist Jasmine Dotiwala, who she describes as a “mine of information”. There’s Stacey Tang, managing director of fellow Sony label RCA and former Atlantic Records colleague, an “absolutely inspirational sister-friend”. And there’s younger sister Danai Mavunga, a business owner and music manager who shares her passions, interests and sense of humour. “We have a really beautiful relationship and she’s one of my closest friends,” says Mavunga.
These friendships are just as much about everyday support for life’s ups and downs as they are about career progression. Mavunga recalls, in particular, confiding in Sackey when their kids first went off to school, connecting over the emotional impact of that shift: “that, to me, is the lifeblood – that’s what keeps you going”.
On juggling a career and motherhood: ‘I needed the pace to slow down’
It took Mavunga 13 years to go from receptionist to head of press at Warner Music. But with success, she found her professional and personal commitments – her daughter was 10 at the time – intensifying, and something had to give.
“I needed the pace to slow down,” Mavunga says. And so the family relocated from London to Johannesburg in search of a quieter life, where Mavunga took up a position at Viacom. “It was definitely a life choice, as well as a career choice,” she says.
The change wasn’t seamless. Even though she was born in Zimbabwe, Mavunga was now a working single mother in a new company, based on a continent she hadn’t lived on since early childhood. She had to learn to speak a whole new language – culturally, socially and professionally.
“I consider myself a champion of African culture,” she says, “and with a name like mine, even if I wanted to hide it, I couldn’t. But out there, I was just the English girl.” For her daughter, however, it was in South Africa that she “found her tribe”.
“There was a sense of self that came out there that has never left her,” says Mavunga , explaining how her daughter asked for lessons to learn her mother tongue, Shona.
And, she adds: “my identity is me and it always has been. The one thing I know how to do best is to be myself.”
On self care and skincare: ‘I’m into products that make me feel good’
“When I was younger, I really took things for granted. Nowadays, I do not,” says Mavunga. She’s referring to skincare – but there’s a broader meaning, too.
“As cliched as it sounds, it does all start from within,” she says. “Over the years I’ve learned that I’m solar-powered: if I get my dose of sun over the year, I’m good. But I’m also into products that make me feel good.”
For Mavunga, there are many routes to feeling good. Whether she’s exploring nature, snuggled on the sofa for a Netflix day, reconnecting with herself through meditation and reiki, or simply at the job that she truly loves doing, her happy life formula is a considered blend of all of the above.
“I think if you find a way to make your passion your duty somehow, that’s when it works,” she says. “And I know that because I’ve seen what happens to people when that’s not the case.”
This passion extends to travel: “Whether it’s going home to Zimbabwe, or back to Johannesburg, or somewhere new, I think travelling is so important and such a luxury,” she says. “I want my daughter to see the world and be exposed to different places.”
Muvanga has also learned to reject “busy culture” and to develop boundaries – working hard as always, but allowing herself to switch off completely when necessary and appropriate. “I don’t think you can have everything all at once,” she says, “and I wish I’d known that sooner.”
Anything else? The one thing she’d do differently if she could go back in time, it turns out, is get more sleep.
Beauty is ageless. Smart Clinical MD is a dermatologist-inspired line to help revolumise and resculpt skin as and when you need it. For a smart addition to your skincare routine, find out more here
