Founder Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela Used Her Science Background To Break Into South Africa’s Brewing Scene, Now She’s Behind An Academy Helping Others Do the Same

South African brewer Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela wants to see more diversity within the beer industry.

Nxusani-Mawela is the founder of Tolokazi Premium Beer & Cider, which offers a variety of beers and ciders that honor the legacy of African female brewers and is inspired by the Tolo Kingdom’s history of brewing, according to information shared on her LinkedIn. She began brewing back in 2007 after obtaining a microbiology degree from the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Pretoria, mentions AP News. She also found that she was able to put her science background to good use with brewing.

“I sort of fell in love with the combination of the business side with the science, with the craftsmanship and the artistic element of brewing,” she told AP News.

This led Nxusani-Mawela to receive further education at the Institute of Brewing and Distilling between 2006 and 2014. By 2019, she positioned herself as a founder within the brewing industry and also owns a brewery that sits in the Johannesburg suburb of Wynberg. This is a historic feat as it is reportedly the first craft brewery to be owned by a Black woman in South Africa.

However, Nxusani-Mawela is focused on not being the only one, which is why she established the Brewsters Academy. The program is welcoming a group of students who have chemical engineering, biotechnology, or analytical chemistry degrees and diplomas, to learn about an industry that makes up $5.2 billion of South Africa’s economy, per AP News.

Students will learn about different beers over a six-month period, and once completed, students can also gain direct experience working in brewing over another six months, notes ABC News.

Classes began in June 2025 and Nxusani-Mawela is currently educating 13 Black graduates, who are mostly women.

“I wanted to make sure that being the first Black female to own a brewery in South Africa, that I’m not the first and the last,” she explained to AP News. “Brewsters Academy for me is about transforming the industry … What I want to see is that in five, 10 years from now that it should be a norm to have Black people in the industry, it should be a norm to have females in the industry.”