The Brand Thread co-founder makes prestigious Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans List

The Brand Thread PR Agency is proud to announce that our co-founder Zoe Mahopo has been listed amongst the 2021 Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans in the business and entrepreneurship category.

The good news comes as the agency prepares to celebrate its first anniversary of existence in July.  This prestigious award has been recognising young people who are making strides in their field of work for the past 15 years.

‘I feel honoured and grateful to be recognised amongst other esteemed South Africans. This victory is not just personal, but it is a reflection of the people who have supported my work including my team members at TBT, my family and our clients who have entrusted us with their brand stories,’ says Zoe.

The M&G 200 theme for 2021 is Resilience and Innovation for Excellence which serves to inspire and applaud young people for their contribution towards growth in their respective fields of work.

Zoe Is an award-winning journalist and PR professional. Driven by her affinity for social justice issues, she has covered stories on a range of topics including the plight of rural mining communities, access to education and land restitution during her six years working at the Sowetan Newspaper. She was selected as one of the Edward R. Murrow fellows for 2014 in the US. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wits University and a BPhil in Journalism from Stellenbosch University.

She worked at Primestars doing projects and media relations before establishing The Brand Thread in 2020 together with her business partner Tshepiso Seopa. The Brand Thread has serviced brands like Fooda, Yellow Owl, WiPiSA, Wesolve4X, Rocky Park Farming Group, and Dear Bella Sanitary Pads amongst others, generating about R15 million worth of PR value for clients during its first year of existence.

The agency was founded during the Covid 19 pandemic, while South Africa was under lockdown level five. The founders had their first meeting at a parking lot of a local shopping mall which led to the establishment of an agile company that understands what it means to build brands amid a global crisis.

‘The vision is to encourage those that come after us to dream bigger. Both Tshepiso and I, are black women who matriculated at the same girls’ high school in Soweto.  We want younger women, to see a reflection of themselves in us and to be bold in their pursuit to greatness no matter the circumstances,’ Zoe says.