AYANDA BOROTHO

Actress, social activist and philanthropist

Ayanda Bortho, who is a wife, mom, actress, speaker, and author, has always been drawn to the arts. She started her career in the advertising and communications space working for powerful companies such as TBWA Gavin Reddy Hawn advertising agency, Adworx, and Grundfos Pumps.

Later, she decided to pursue her love for acting, where she excelled in her roles in the SABC1 sitcom, Nomzamo, and Mzansi Magic’s Isibaya. It is her role in Isibaya that cemented Ayanda’s presence in the acting industry, earning her two nominations at the Royalty Soapie Awards. Ayanda has also featured in a number of local productions, both as presenter and actress.

However, it is her role as an activist that is most close to Ayanda’s heart. A humanitarian, she has used her voice to drive social conversations and draw awareness to the plight of women, and she’s at the forefront of fighting cultural and societal practices that oppress women and children. Through her iNjabulo Foundation, she helped underprivileged communities with food parcels during the Covid-19 lockdown. The good work that she’s doing for struggling communities hasn’t gone unnoticed: in 2019, her activism earned her a nomination for UN’s Most Influential People of African Descent.

A storyteller, Ayanda has written and published a book titled, Unbecoming To Become: My Journey Back to Self. In her memoir, Ayanda talks about the crippling effects that social expectations, cultural conditioning, religious protocol and family obligations have on young girls.