Influencer Naledi Mallela bags an MBA with Monash University

TV presenter and YouTuber Naledi Mallela wants to shoot down the myth that influencers aren’t smart.

The 29-year-old has just completed her MBA with Monash University South Africa and hopes to prove that content creators can also be educated people.

Naledi, who hosts My Top 5 on DStv’s Channel O, has over 100 000 subscribers on YouTube.

She told Daily Sun: “People in the social media space are educated and they go to school. People don’t know that most content creators have studied the art of social media. Most have studied strategic brand management.”

Naledi said her MBA would help her become a better content creator.

“I am passionate about what I do and I want to erase the stigma that we are not smart. I want people to go to school because education is so important,” she said.

Naledi said she started studying towards an MBA in 2019 and it was not easy.

It took long because there were difficult subjects and Covid-19 also prolonged it. It was a difficult experience but it was worth it,” she said.

Naledi, originally from Alberton in Ekurhuleni, said education was important to her.

“I come from a family where education is important. My dad used to say the one thing people can’t take away from you is your education.”

Naledi said she didn’t realise she wanted to be an influencer for a long time.

“I wanted to be a marketing manager but I had a bad experience. When I jumped to social media, I saw its power. I wanted to integrate that with my studies and my dissertation focused on how social media can improve the corporate space,” she said.