Driven by a passion for change

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, continues striving for better things in life.

He is an entrepreneur, author, founder and CEO of Leadxtra Group.

Vilani has always been inspired by people who carry themselves to a point where they feel they have made it. The communities around him have played a pivotal role in inspiring him because it is from their daily life routine that he has learnt, observed, analysed and created a world he has imagined.

He started writing in 2012, when he used to have a diary of poems that he would script at any given time. In five years he published his books.

Vilani has 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, we will find one important thing in these messages, and that 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 other titled The Radiator of God’s Own Glory.

He believes that passion does not come out of the blue, but rather one has to search within, cultivate it and grow with it.

“I have always loved how people cheered my words and if people can love my words, how can I 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,” Vilani says. “When my first book was published, I was struck by fear… I asked myself, who am I to write books that people will read, and to make matters worse, my peers would question me,” 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, and it’s very interesting,” Vilani says.

Outside writing, he is an entrepreneur. Leadxtra Group is a holding company which 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 also encountered challenges along his journey.

“I would at some point want to talk of peer pressure, but I’m grateful for the fact that I have always maintained that in life, only what I want is what I will do. The greatest of challenges that I have encountered and continue to do, is access to exposure equivalent to the dream I carry,” he says.

In five years, Vilani sees himself very far ahead as an entrepreneur and hopes to have built Leadxtra to becoming one of the major corporate giants in the African domain.

“The one important piece of advice I’d like to give to the youth out there around the world is to read between the lines, study your family surroundings and ask yourself do you want them to be like that in the next five years,” says Vilani.