Lucky number seven has arrived for Ascent Africa. But founder Liat Madinane will tell you the milestone is the product of grit, not chance — a seven-year climb that now culminates in a bold Africa focused rebrand and a new chapter for the agency.
Liat Madinane is the founder of Ascent Africa. Source: Supplied.
You’ve just marked seven years of building Ascent Africa. What inspired you to start this agency?
Entrepreneurship has always been the golden thread in my life. Growing up, I organised dance shows with my sisters and charged neighbours to watch, creating opportunities to sell or participate long before I had a word for it. Designing posters and promoting the shows across the neighbourhood was my first lesson in marketing.
For me, building a business is about creating opportunity, contributing to job creation and participating meaningfully in South Africa’s economic and transformation agenda. When I founded Ascent Africa, I saw a gap between strategy and execution and between leadership intent and public perception. The agency was created to bridge that gap by operating at the intersection of strategy, creativity and organisational growth to help organisations compete with credibility and long-term relevance.
You’ve announced a new brand for Ascent Africa. What does this rebrand represent?
Africa has the youngest population in the world, with more than 60% under the age of 25, and that reality is shaping economic and leadership shifts across the continent. Our position embraces this by recognising that Africa is young, bold and rising, and our rebrand is us rising with this Africa.
Over the past few years the business evolved significantly in capability and positioning, and the previous identity no longer reflected who we had become. As a 100% black owned, female owned and youth owned agency, this was not a cosmetic change but a strategic alignment to communicate our role as a new-generation integrated agency operating across strategy, creativity, technology and intelligence.
The new brand reflects both our ambition and the realities of the market. South Africa’s marketing and media sector continues to grow, with revenues projected to exceed $17bn in the coming years and digital advertising expected to dominate spend.
At the same time, large multinational networks still control much of the market, which means independent agencies must compete through excellence, innovation and credibility. Ascent Africa represents our commitment to doing our part. It aligns with national transformation priorities while focusing on competence, delivery and measurable value. The brand communicates confidence, structure and forward momentum, which is exactly how we operate.
How would you describe your personal journey as a founder?
One of the biggest highlights has been the power of doing time and staying anchored to a long-term vision even when results are not immediate.
Everything in my life is aligned to becoming the best entrepreneur I can be, including investing in systems, compliance, structure, people and delivery standards that build trust.
Seeing the agency trusted with complex, high-stakes work has been deeply affirming. The biggest challenges are often internal, navigating leadership pressure, responsibility and the weight of building something sustainable. But those pressures are also what build leadership capacity. There is no shortcut to maturity.
Last year you were named IMM Emerging Marketer of the Year. How did that recognition feel?
It was a meaningful confirmation of the time and intentional investment I have placed into my career and into an industry I have committed my life to. Being recognised by the leading marketing institute in the country reaffirmed my place as a young professional and encouraged me to continue pushing forward. For the agency, it strengthened credibility because markets respond to signals of competence. Awards do not define the work, but they validate trajectory and momentum.
Was there a defining moment when you realised the agency had matured?
Maturity happens gradually, but there are moments that make it visible. One defining experience was leading a national campaign for the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation involving multiple stakeholders including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South African Revenue Service (Sars), Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) and the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME).
Having the Sars Commissioner, Mr Edward Kieswetter, visit our office as part of that work was a powerful moment. It represented trust at the highest level and marked a clear realisation that the agency had evolved significantly over seven years. When you are trusted in complex, multi-stakeholder environments, you know the business has matured.
You speak about Africa rising and leadership needing to rise with it. How does this play out?
Africa’s opportunity is real, but opportunity does not automatically translate into competitiveness. Organisations need leadership maturity, long-term intent and integrated thinking supported by technology to compete effectively. Marketing and communication must move beyond promotion into strategic influence, connecting leadership decisions, organisational behaviour and public perception and trust. Agencies also need to evolve into long-term partners integrating strategy, creativity and technology to deliver measurable outcomes in increasingly complex environments.
What role do you see Ascent Africa playing in the future landscape?
We want to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s transformation and inclusion story not through statistics but through credibility, competence and earned trust. Our ambition is to demonstrate that independent African agencies can operate at the highest level of strategic and executional excellence while helping organisations navigate complexity with clarity and confidence. Ultimately, we want to contribute to building institutions that are competitive on a global stage.
Were there mentors or experiences that shaped your leadership style?
My leadership journey has been shaped by people who believed in me and experiences that pushed me to grow. I’ve been lucky to learn from strong women — mentors at university who opened my eyes to the professional world, business coaches who guided me through my early entrepreneurial steps, and leaders who sharpened my marketing and communications skills.
At the same time, many of my most important lessons came from challenging moments that required resilience, difficult decisions and accountability. Together, these influences shaped how I lead today and reinforced a belief I hold strongly that leadership is not built alone, and that as we grow, we have a responsibility to create opportunities for others as well.
As you step into this next chapter, what excites you most about the future?
I am deeply excited about this next chapter personally and for the agency because it represents progression after a period of real testing and growth. There were moments of uncertainty along the journey, but overcoming those challenges strengthened both the business and my leadership. This is our seventh year, which for me as a deeply spiritual person symbolises completion and readiness for the next level.
I have devoted my career to building an entrepreneurial path in integrated marketing and communications, and this phase feels like stepping fully into purpose with clarity, confidence and ambition. This is my purpose, and I intend to continue pursuing excellence with everything I have.
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