21st Century Funeral Services proudly announces that its Chief Operating Officer, Aphiwe Khambule, has been awarded the prestigious title of 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year by Business Partners, becoming the youngest entrepreneur in the program’s history to receive this honour. This milestone marks more than an individual achievement.
It represents a generational shift in South Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape and a powerful signal to emerging SMMEs that innovation, integrity, and bold leadership can redefine long-standing sectors. Aphiwe Khambule, a second-generation leader in the family-founded business, has guided 21st Century Funeral Services into a new era characterised by digital transformation, job creation, youth empowerment, and community-focused service excellence.
Under her leadership, the company has introduced modernised funeral insurance solutions, broadened access through township-focused distribution models, and deepened its commitment to dignified, affordable funeral care for South African families.
“Receiving this award is not only a personal honour, it is an affirmation of the work our team puts into reimagining what funeral services can be,” says Khambule. “South Africa is rich with visionary entrepreneurs, especially among our youth. This recognition reinforces that our ideas, our innovations, and our ambition have a place in shaping the country’s economic and social future.”
The accolade arrives at a time when the funeral insurance and services industry is undergoing rapid change, driven by the need for accountability, improved customer experience, and accessible financial protection. Khambule’s leadership serves as a blueprint for how young entrepreneurs can transform traditional industries through technology, ethical practices, and a deep understanding of community realities.
Industry observers note that her achievement will likely inspire a new wave of SMMEs to challenge outdated models, embrace innovation, and build sustainable, socially responsive enterprises. It also positions 21st Century Funeral Services as a standard-bearer for modernisation in an industry that plays a vital role in South African cultural and financial life.
Her most significant contribution, one already drawing national attention, is her bold move to address one of the country’s most critical challenges: the shortage of burial space. Khambule is spearheading the development of a landmark project, the 21st Century Memorial Park, designed to offer a sustainable, dignified, and financially inclusive solution for all families across South Africa, regardless of their background.
The project has two innovative components:
1. Funeral Insurance Benefit for Grave Plots.
Clients will be able to take out insurance specifically designed to secure a grave plot in advance, ensuring affordability and long-term planning for families who want certainty and dignity.
2. Upfront Cash Payment Option for Family Estates
Families will have access to an upfront cash payment model to secure estate burial space for multiple generations, helping them avoid future shortages, delays, and spiralling land costs.
This blended insurance-estate model positions 21st Century Funeral Services as one of the first companies in the country to create a scalable, modern solution to burial land scarcity. It also represents a step toward a more efficient, respectful, and forward-thinking funeral ecosystem. She has also led the first partnership in South Africa between a funeral insurance provider and a national airline, securing preferential domestic flight discounts for policyholders through CemAir.
The partnership marks a new category of funeral benefits that aligns dignity with practical, modern support for South African families. This award marks a celebration, a signal that the next generation of leadership is ready to take South Africa’s SMME sector, and the funeral industry in particular, into a future rooted in excellence and innovation.
As 21st Century Funeral Services continues its national growth, this award reinforces the company’s commitment to championing policyholder protection and setting a higher standard for service delivery across South Africa’s funeral and insurance landscape. Her work positions the company as a national leader not only in funeral insurance, but in sustainable, long-term burial planning.
The 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year Award signifies the emergence of a new generation of industry leaders and reaffirms Khambule’s position as one of the most influential young entrepreneurs shaping South Africa’s business future. A leader shaping the industry’s future with vision, courage, and unwavering community focus.
