Nikki Bush Urges African Women to Invest for iIndependence at JSE SheInvests 2025
Africa’s financial future depends on women claiming their power as investors. That was the central message delivered by renowned human potential thought leader Nikki Bush at the JSE SheInvests Conference, held on 23 August 2025 at the Sandton Convention Centre. Speaking to a continental audience in person and online, Bush framed financial empowerment as more than numbers on a balance sheet — it is about freedom of choice.
“The ultimate form of wealth is choice freedom,”
Bush told Post Express Africa.
“It’s the ability to change your mind, follow new paths, or take new opportunities without being held hostage by money. And women are worthy of that freedom.”
Bush’s philosophy was shaped by her own journey of resilience. After the sudden death of her husband in a violent home invasion, she was forced to re-evaluate her finances and career. “I was good at creating an income, but I had to learn how to create wealth,” she explained.
“That meant moving from surviving month to month to investing in assets that would grow over time. Money needs leadership and direction. It’s just an energy — and whatever you focus on will flourish.”
Her call resonated with SheInvests 2025’s theme, Where Your Present and Future Meet. Bush challenged women across Africa to embrace long-term investing, stressing that compounding works not only for money but for skills and relationships.
“While you are sweating at work, something else must be sweating for you,” she said. “That’s why a percentage of your income should always go into investments that grow over time.”
She also urged young women to start early, noting that financial literacy and access to investment tools are more available than ever before.
“Ignorance about money is no longer an excuse,”
she said.
“There is too much information and support available. Money is not complicated — it’s just a story we’ve been told.”
The event’s broader line-up reinforced her message. From Professor Thuli Madonsela’s reflections on justice and inclusion, to Bonang Matheba’s entrepreneurial insights, to Ncumisa Ndelu’s grassroots “1 Family, 1 Stockpile” movement, the voices on stage positioned women as central to Africa’s economic transformation.
For Bush, the challenge is not only to access wealth but to own the narrative around it.
“We are worthy of creating assets that will look after us as we age, as we change our minds, as we follow new paths. Money is involved in all of those things. We must stop seeing it as something mysterious or complicated — it needs our leadership.”
As Africa’s largest stock exchange, the JSE has become a continental benchmark, and SheInvests 2025 amplified its message far beyond Sandton. For thousands of women tuning in, Bush’s words served as a reminder that financial empowerment is about more than survival — it is about shaping the future.
In closing, she left the audience with a challenge:
“May your curiosity be stronger than your fear. Because fear will keep you trapped, but curiosity will lead you to new people, new places, and new opportunities. And when women are curious, courageous, and committed to investing, they create the kind of freedom that changes families, communities, and nations.”
