Pretoria - South Africa-based Zimbabwean entrepreneur and author Keith Vilani is not only a youth leader, he has his sights on becoming one of the country’s most influential persons by the age of 25.
Driven by his passion for change and exposing extraordinary capabilities, Vilani, 23, strives for better things in life.
He is the founder and CEO of Leadxtra Group. Vilani has always been inspired by people who have made it. The communities around him have played a pivotal role in inspiring him because from their “daily life routine” he has learnt, observed, analysed and created a world he has imagined.
He started writing in 2012, with a diary of poems. In five years he published three books – Spirit Filling & How Your Spirit is Filled, first and second editions; Living a Life of Purpose; and the poetry offering, The Deep Feeling.
“In all these books, the message is the pledge for humanity to realise and practise the fact that they come into this world full. And the one who has lived to the fullest, departs an empty man. Compose that song, teach those lessons, start that business, and do something with all that God has given you,” he says.
There are two more books coming soon: Dear Black Child and The Radiator of God’s Own Glory.
Vilani believes passion does not come out of the blue, one has to search within, cultivate it and grow with it.
“If people love my words, how can l make a change with these words? I therefore continue to improve my writing and go back to my community to observe and tell a story,” he says.
“When my first book was published, I was struck by fear because as you venture into an industry, you question yourself on the authenticity of your presence/availability.
“I asked myself, who am l to write books that people will read? And my peers would question me: What do you know, Keith, that you can compile a read? Those kinds of things sparked controversy in me and I would ride on fear the whole time,” he says.
Deep within himself, he wanted to give up because he felt he had done enough and people would never forget him and he was proud of himself.
“The journey continues today. I am more than happy to serve that voice of God I have listened to,” Vilani says.
Outside of writing, he is an entrepreneur. Leadxtra Group is a holding company that serves markets in the cleaning, consulting and courier industries. He is also one of the brains behind Idea Stereo, an online radio platform, and many brands have been started under his name, such as I Choose Christ.
Vilani has encountered challenges on his journey: “I would at some point want to talk of peer pressure, but l have always maintained that in life, only what I want is what l will do.”
In five years, Vilani sees himself as an entrepreneur and hopes to have built Leadxtra to become one of the corporate giants in the African domain. His favourite quote of all time is “Listen to yourself”, by Maya Angelou.
“It summarises life. If you listen to yourself, do something to get you, your family, your communities, your province and country to a certain level, and be a human of impact,” says Vilani.
Pretoria News