REFILOE MONOPELA PICTURED AT THE MONO CAFE IN DAVEYTON
From hospitality and entrepreneurship to community development and women’s leadership, she is creating more than businesses — she is creating platforms for connection, opportunity and economic participation.
LEN KALANE
There are entrepreneurs who build businesses, and there are entrepreneurs who build spaces where people can become something more. For Refiloe Salamina Monopela, the two have become inseparable.
A hospitality entrepreneur, community builder and advocate for women’s economic empowerment, Refiloe has built her journey around a simple but powerful idea: when you create the right space, you create the possibility for transformation.
As Director of Monoshez Holdings Pty Ltd, her footprint spans hospitality and tourism — Mono Café in Daveyton, Monoshez Bush Camp in White River, Mpumalanga, and Monoshez City Escape in Mayfield, Benoni in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. Yet behind the properties, menus and events lies a deeper purpose: creating environments where people can meet, exchange ideas, discover opportunities and build relationships.
FROM A CAFÉ TO A PLATFORM
Mono Café is more than a place to have coffee. Under Refiloe’s vision, it has become a space for conversations about business, leadership, creativity, culture and community. Her approach to hospitality reaches beyond serving guests; it is about creating experiences and bringing people together.
That philosophy shone through her Women in Leadership Networking Session, which gathered women from leadership, hospitality, entrepreneurship and related sectors to connect, exchange experiences and engage with organisations working across different spheres of society.
“We should not wait for someone else to create the table. We must create the table, invite one another to it and make sure that there is room for the next woman.” — Refiloe Monopela
For Refiloe, networking is not simply about swapping business cards. It is about building relationships that open doors — relationships that lead to collaboration, referrals, mentorship, partnerships, investment and support. Her movement is built on what she calls intentional connection, and it asks women four questions:
What do you do? What do you need? What can you offer? Who can you connect to?
And, finally, the one that holds the rest together: how can we grow together?
PHOTO: LISTENING ATTENTIVELY, THE LAST WOMEN EVENT HELD IN SEPTEMBER 2026 AT MONO CAFE, DAVEYTON
THE NEXT CONVERSATION: FROM EQUALITY TO ECONOMIC POWER
That spirit now finds its boldest expression in Women, Wealth & Equality, taking place at Mono Café on Saturday, 10 October 2026. Its theme is deliberately direct:
“Equality to Economic Power: Women Building, Owning and Protecting Wealth.”
The conversation moves beyond the language of empowerment towards practical questions. How do women build wealth? How do they become owners? How do they understand money and investment? And how do they protect what they have built?
The day brings together voices from financial education, law, property investment and gender equality. Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale from the Commission for Gender Equality delivers the keynote address. She is joined by Khayakazi Madlavu of Nedbank on financial literacy; Khaliphonia Masooane, SAPIN speaker and property investor, and township property investor Sharon Sedibeng on property as a tool for building wealth; Colet Swiegers of BSA Law on women, law and ownership; and an Old Mutual representative on wealth protection and financial planning.
The intention is not simply to inspire women for a day. It is to spark conversations that translate into knowledge, ownership and action — and the programme closes with a Women’s Action Conversation built around practical next steps for financial confidence, ownership, leadership and wealth creation.
| SAVE THE DATE · WOMEN, WEALTH & EQUALITY | |
| THEME | Equality to Economic Power: Women Building, Owning and Protecting Wealth |
| DATE | Saturday, 10 October 2026 |
| TIME | 11:00 – 16:00 (arrival and registration from 10:30) |
| VENUE | Mono Café, Daveyton, Gauteng |
| KEYNOTE | Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) |
| PARTNERS | PiE · SA Property Investors Network · Nedbank · BSA Law · Old Mutual · S.Pellegrino · Acqua Panna |
| THE PROGRAMME | ||
| 10:30 | Arrival & Registration | Guests arrive, register and enjoy a welcome experience at Mono Café |
| 11:00 | Financial Literacy | Khayakazi Madlavu, Nedbank Limited — Money, financial wellness and building your financial foundation |
| 11:45 | Welcome & Opening Remarks | Refiloe Monopela, Founder & Director, Monoshez Holdings | Mono Café |
| 12:00 | Keynote Address | Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale — Women, Equality & the Power to Build Wealth |
| 12:45 | Women’s Equality & Wealth Conversation | Facilitated discussion and audience engagement |
| 13:15 | Property & Wealth | Khaliphonia Masooane (SAPIN) and Sharon Sedibeng, township property investor |
| 14:00 | Lunch & Networking | Connect with speakers, partners and fellow guests |
| 14:45 | Wealth Protection & Financial Planning | Old Mutual representative (name to be confirmed) |
| 15:15 | Women, Law & Ownership | Colet Swiegers, Attorney, BSA Law |
| 15:45 | The Women’s Action Conversation | Practical next steps for financial confidence, ownership, leadership and wealth creation |
| 16:00 | Closing & Thank You | Key takeaways and next steps |
PHOTO: REFILOE OUT IN COLOURFUL STYLE
LEADERSHIP THAT EXTENDS BEYOND BUSINESS
Refiloe’s work also reaches into community development through Make It Happen NPO and initiatives such as the Colour on Wheels ECD Programme — proof of her belief that community spaces matter, and that transformation can begin with something as tangible as colour, creativity and a renewed environment.
PHOTO: REFILOE HAS FORGED PARTNERSHIPS WITH PAINT COMPANIES TO COLOUR SPACES
Through partnerships with organisations including Dulux and Pits, spaces have been transformed through art and colour. The before-and-after images tell their own story: a blank or neglected wall becomes a place of imagination; a physical environment becomes a message; and a community project becomes a reminder that our surroundings can be changed.
A VIEW BEYOND HER OWN DOORSTEP
With more than two decades of experience across business strategy, programme development, hospitality, education, skills development and community initiatives, Refiloe brings a rare breadth to her work. Her career has touched early childhood development, school learning environments and the creative and arts sectors, where she has helped create skills-development opportunities for women and youth.
Her horizons have been widened by some remarkable platforms:
- The Fetola Hospitality Growth Programme, which helped her see her hospitality businesses as sustainable economic contributors within township and rural communities – “I participated in the Fetola Hospitality Growth Programme which is designed to support hospitality and tourism entrepreneurs to build stronger, more sustainable businesses. The programme goes beyond simply teaching entrepreneurship – it focusses on practical business growth, financial management, market access, systems, leadership and building businesses that can create job and contribute to local communities. For me the programme was particularly meaningful because I was able to look at my hospitality businesses not only as places of accommodation or food service but as businesses that can become sustainable economic contributors within township and rural communities, ” said Refiloe. Fetola’s broader work is about strengthening South Africa’s SME ecosystem and helping entrepreneurs move from survival to sustainable growth. Their programmes have supported thousands of businesses and focus strongly on enterprise development, inclusive wealth creation and employment”.
- The Aurora Research Grants, where she helped document grassroots humanitarian changemakers — a reminder that lasting impact often comes from individuals working quietly in communities. She said: “My participation with Aurora was another experience that took me beyond my immediate business environment. Through the Aurora Research Grants programme, participants research grassroots humanitarian changemakers – particularly people working in difficult environments and situations of conflict and crisis – and identify individuals whose work may otherwise remain unseen. The research requires looking at different sources, verifying information and documenting the stories and impact of people who are making a difference on the ground. Aurora then uses this research as part of its processes of identifying humanitarian leaders for the Aurora Prize. What made this particularly powerful for me was the opportunity to understand that impact is not always created by people with large institutions or significant resources. Sometimes it comes from individuals working quietly in communities, taking extraordinary risks and creating change where they are. Aurora’s work is important because it deliberately brings visibility to these grassroots humanitarians and connects their stories to a much larger international platform.
- The G20 Global Land Initiative and land restoration conversations, which linked her work to livelihoods, food security, rural economies and climate resilience. Refiloe said:”My participation in the G20 land restoration space was another significant experience because it connected me to conversations much larger than my own businesses — particularly around land degradation, climate resilience, sustainability, communities and the future of our natural resources.The G20 Global Land Initiative works internationally to prevent, halt and reverse land degradation and to scale up land restoration. Its work brings together governments, experts, communities, businesses and other stakeholders around the economic, environmental and social importance of restoring degraded land. During South Africa’s G20 Presidency, land degradation, drought and water sustainability were among the issues being prioritised, and the G20 Global Land Initiative contributed technical work and engagement around large-scale restoration.What resonated with me is that land restoration isn’t only an environmental conversation. It is also about livelihoods, food security, rural economies, jobs, climate resilience and the wellbeing of future generations. The G20’s own technical work recognises that restoring land can generate environmental, social and economic benefits”.
Explaining the rationale behind carrying such load and responsibilities, Refiloe said: ” When you put these three experiences alongside my work with Monoshez, Make It Happen NPO, the Colour on Wheels programme and the women’s leadership and wealth initiatives, there is actually a common thread. I am interested in building things that create opportunity — whether that is through a business, a community programme, a platform for women, humanitarian research or conversations around sustainable development.”
She added: “I think that is perhaps the bigger story behind my journey. Hospitality is the business platform, but the broader purpose for me is about creating spaces, opportunities and networks that can contribute to economic participation, community development and meaningful change”.
This common thread, she explains, is a passion for building things that create opportunity.
Her work has also involved creating skills-development opportunities for women and youth within the arts and creative sector. Through the Women in Leadership initiative, Refiloe wants to create something that goes beyond her own business. Her vision is to create a platform where women can access the relationships, visibility and conversations that can help them move forward.
Refiloe’s leadership philosophy
“We should not wait for someone else to create the table. We must create the table, invite one another to it and make sure that there is room for the next woman.”
For Refiloe, leadership is not simply about a position or title. It is about impact, responsibility, opportunity and legacy.
PHOTO: REFILOE GIVING AN ADDRESS
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE VISION
At the centre of it all is an entrepreneur who has chosen to build across several worlds. She is a businesswoman when she builds a hospitality enterprise, a host when she opens her doors, a convener when she brings women together, a community builder when she works through her NPO — and a woman writing her own definition of leadership when she turns ideas into platforms.
Her work shows that business can be commercially driven while still creating real social value.
Looking ahead, she envisions a continuing platform: regular networking sessions, profiles of women entrepreneurs and leaders, mentorship and knowledge-sharing, business collaboration, engagement with government and the private sector, skills development, women-focused community programmes, and recognition for women making an impact in their communities.
“The goal is not simply to create spaces where women are invited. It is to create spaces where women can connect, learn, build, own and protect what they create.” — Refiloe Monopela
A LEGACY OF SPACE-MAKING
Perhaps the most compelling thread in Refiloe’s work is space. A café can be a space for conversation. A hospitality property, a space for experience. A networking event, a space for opportunity. An NPO project can turn a wall into a symbol of hope. And a women’s economic forum can become a place where knowledge is exchanged and new possibilities are considered.
Refiloe Salamina Monopela is not simply building businesses. She is building places where people can meet, connect and imagine what comes next. And through Women, Wealth & Equality, her latest chapter asks an even bigger question:
What happens when women move from being participants in the economy to becoming builders, owners and protectors of wealth?
That is the conversation she is putting on the table. And she is inviting women to take their seats.
