The Mandela University Africa Hub was established in 2024 to drive youth entrepreneurship and social innovation, starting with our Entrepreneurship and Incubation in Action students and young township entrepreneurs in Gqeberha and expanding this to the Eastern Cape, South Africa and ultimately to other countries in Africa. In the past year, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI) at Nelson Mandela University has incubated 42 small businesses over the past year, creating 96 jobs.
The founder of Chaya Legal Consulting and Legal Ascend, combining legal expertise with technology and social impact, Philander has been recognised internationally for her innovations in legal tech, and in how she supports small businesses, women entrepreneurs, and marginalised communities.
An attorney and conveyancer with over 10 years of legal experience and nine years as an entrepreneur, her practice focuses on serving vulnerable communities, working-class individuals and small business owners who often face barriers in accessing justice.
She founded Chaya Legal Consulting and Training, providing affordable legal solutions to small businesses, and Legal Ascend, an online document automation platform that generates Wills and Estate reporting documents.
Legal Ascend has achieved international recognition, including selection for the Justice Accelerator hosted by the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), third place in the HiiL Innovating Justice Challenge, and first place in the Law for All Legal Tech Accelerator Fund in 2023.
Taking legal services to the people
Philander also channels her passion into supporting female student entrepreneurs. Through She Journeys, founded in 2021, she equips women to find purpose, recognise the value of their identities, and achieve success in business, career, and life.
Her commitment to empowerment extends to serving as a consultant for the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP), with national recognition in 2024, and participation in an international student chapter visit to London.
Her entrepreneurial spirit dates to school, where she sold new products at market days and raffled off old toys. Today, Philander leads a team of four at Chaya Legal, while leveraging Legal Ascend to connect with global programmes supporting justice innovation.
She believes that entrepreneurship is an important initiative for one to express themselves creatively, seek solutions to solve a problem and come up with new ideas.
Read more in the latest BizYouth magazine, showcasing the pioneering work being done in advancing Nelson Mandela University as an entrepreneurial institution.