First actuary black female

A courageous village girl who beat all odds to pursue higher education became the first black female actuary, passing with distinctions at the University of Pretoria (UP).

Fhatuwani Nemakhavhani, pictured, from Tswinga village near Thohoyandou, Limpopo, travelled on her own to enrol for her studies in Actuarial Science at UP in 2009, after falling in love with mathematics in high school.

With a domestic worker mother, she was temporarily fostered by her mother’s employers to do her Grade 9 and 10 at Allen Glen High School in Johannesburg. But English was a challenge.

“I had to adapt to be taught all my subjects in English – it was a big cultural and language change. But once I grasped mathematics, I realised that I don’t need to know the language perfectly to excel… In Grade 10, I came second in mathematics,” she said.

In Grade 11, she returned to Marude Secondary School. “At the end of 2009, I made history by becoming the first student in the school’s history to pass mathematics with 100%.”

After attending the Limpopo matric summer camp, she applied for a bursary at the SA Actuaries Development Programme (SAADP) which she did not get. But the then 17-year-old received a call from UP’s senior student advisor Fred Ratshisevhe, saying she was accepted to study there.

After receiving funding from National Student Financial Aid Scheme, and passing her first semester with four distinctions, SAADP awarded her with a full bursary for tuition and residence.

She enrolled for her honours degree, while working as an assistant lecturer in statistics.

In July this year, at age 25, Nemakhavhani passed her final actuarial board exam to obtain a double qualification, Fellow of Actuarial Society of SA and Certified Enterprise Risk Management Actuary. She works for Absa Life in the capital and balance sheet management team.