By Saul Molobi
Each year on 9 August, Women’s Day in South Africa invites us to pause and recognise the women whose leadership continues to redefine the continent’s future. While some inspire through politics, others through science, entrepreneurship or the arts, there are those whose influence is felt in the less visible – but no less consequential – worlds of law, finance and governance. It is within these spaces that sustainable economic transformation is often conceived, negotiated and protected.
Among this distinguished generation of African professionals stands Linda Maqheyana, a South African attorney, compliance specialist and development finance expert whose career has been dedicated to building institutions, strengthening governance and expanding the foundations upon which inclusive economic growth depends.
As she prepares to host a women’s empowerment seminar on business financing, “She Rises: Financially Empowered, Future Ready”, her message could not be more timely. Across Africa, women-owned enterprises continue to confront barriers to accessing finance, investment capital and strategic business networks. While women have demonstrated extraordinary resilience and entrepreneurial talent, many remain excluded from the financial ecosystems that enable businesses to scale and thrive.
Linda Maqheyana belongs to a cadre of African professionals working to bridge precisely this divide.
Law in the service of development
For more than two decades, Maqheyana has cultivated an impressive career at the intersection of commercial law, financial regulation and development finance. Admitted as an attorney in April 2002, she has consistently demonstrated that the practice of law extends far beyond litigation – it is also about creating certainty, building trust and enabling economic development.
Her academic journey reflects an unwavering commitment to lifelong learning. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cape Town, an LLB from the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg), a Certificate in Compliance Management from the University of Johannesburg, and is completing an LLM in Mercantile Law at the University of Pretoria. Complementing these qualifications is an extensive portfolio of specialist training in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, corporate governance, project finance, financial markets regulation, cybersecurity, data privacy, credit risk management and international regulatory frameworks.
In an era where financial systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and interconnected, such multidisciplinary expertise has become indispensable.
Building confidence in financial markets
Perhaps one of the defining chapters of Linda Maqheyana’s career was her service as Senior Legal Counsel at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) between 2015 and 2021.
Within one of South Africa’s most respected financial institutions, she advised on complex financial market transactions, including ISDA Master Agreements, Global Master Repurchase Agreements, custody arrangements, securities lending transactions and national payment system agreements. These are the sophisticated legal instruments that underpin confidence in modern financial markets, facilitate investment and safeguard financial stability.
Her expertise also found international recognition when she participated as a presenter in the World Bank’s Reserve Advisory and Management Partnership (RAMP) programme in Paris in 2018, sharing knowledge with central banking professionals from around the world.
Such achievements speak not only to technical competence but also to Africa’s growing contribution to global financial governance.
Development finance with purpose
Long before her central banking career, Linda Maqheyana served as senior legal advisor in investment banking at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
There she worked on structuring complex funding transactions, conducting legal due diligence and drafting funding agreements for local and international development projects.
Development finance occupies a unique place within Africa’s economic journey. It is where infrastructure, industrialisation and inclusive growth intersect. Professionals who understand both the legal and financial architecture of development finance become catalysts for sustainable progress.
Linda Maqheyana has spent much of her career operating precisely within this strategic space.
Entrepreneur, legal practitioner and institution builder
Her decision to establish Maqheyana Attorneys between 2012 and 2015 reflected another dimension of her leadership.
Running a legal practice demanded not only legal excellence but also entrepreneurship. Appearing before the Magistrates’, High and Labour Courts, representing clients before the CCMA, while simultaneously providing compliance advisory services and managing business development, required a rare combination of professional discipline and commercial acumen.
Her experience as a business owner provides valuable insight into the realities faced by entrepreneurs – particularly women navigating complex regulatory environments while building sustainable enterprises.
Why women’s access to finance matters
The significance of Linda Maqheyana’s seminar extends beyond technical discussions about loans, compliance or investment structures.
Business financing represents one of the most powerful levers for advancing gender equality.
Access to finance enables women to transform ideas into enterprises, create employment, build generational wealth and strengthen local economies. Yet across much of Africa, women entrepreneurs continue to encounter structural barriers ranging from limited collateral and financial literacy to unequal access to investment networks.
Addressing these challenges requires more than financial institutions alone. It requires mentors. Trusted advisors. Legal practitioners. Compliance specialists. Development finance professionals.
Leaders who can demystify finance and equip women with the confidence to participate fully in the formal economy. Maqheyana embodies precisely this role.
A voice for ethical leadership
Throughout her career, Linda Maqheyana has consistently championed governance founded upon integrity, accountability and regulatory excellence.
Her expertise spans capital raising, deal structuring, financial markets regulation, corporate governance, legal risk management, stakeholder engagement, data privacy under POPIA and GDPR, as well as anti-money laundering and Financial Intelligence Centre Act compliance.
These disciplines may appear technical, yet they serve a profoundly human purpose: building institutions that people can trust.
In an age where ethical leadership has become an increasingly valuable currency, professionals who combine technical excellence with principled leadership offer Africa an enduring competitive advantage.
Celebrating the architects of Africa’s future
Women’s Day is ultimately a celebration of possibility. It honours women who build schools and hospitals, lead research laboratories and multinational corporations, create works of art and scientific breakthroughs, cultivate farms and launch businesses.
It also celebrates women like Maqheyana, whose work behind boardroom tables, in legal offices and within financial institutions quietly strengthens the systems upon which prosperity depends.
As she convenes women to discuss business financing and economic empowerment, she reminds us that access to capital is about far more than money.
It is about confidence. It is about ownership. It is about dignity. It is about expanding opportunity for future generations.
For Africa’s transformation will not be measured solely by the growth of its economies, but by the extent to which its women are empowered to participate in, shape and lead them.
During this Women’s Month, we salute Maqheyana – not simply for an accomplished legal career, but for her commitment to opening doors through knowledge, integrity and leadership. Her journey reminds us that when women are equipped with the tools of finance, governance and enterprise, they do more than build successful businesses – they help build the Africa we aspire to become.
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Jambo Africa Online is offering 5 lucky women readers complimentary tickets each valued at R400 to attend the seminar – these will be given to the first 5 to send their request to info@brandhillafrica.com before close of business on Thursday.