Having grown up on a pig farm in Frankfort in Eastern Cape, Kema says she always had a deep connection with the land.
“My family was into commercial pig farming. I hated it with a passion but it provided for us and took us to school.
“But my love affair with horses began when I acquired a citrus farm in Eastern Cape in 2006 through the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform.
“Soon after that I fell in love with my neighbour’s stud, as they were the celebrated breeders in the area.” says Kema. “The Elandskraal stud farm was up for sale at the time, and in 2007 I acquired the farm, an event that changed my life.”
The businesswoman made waves at her first national yearling auction in 2007, when she became the first black commercial breeder of horses in South Africa.
“I knew I had made it when Mary Slack, daughter of wellknown South African businessman Harry Oppenheimer, bought my filly Midnight Queen, and Mike McLachlan bought Fair Report, who has since won two races,” she says brimming with pride.
In 2008 she won The Herald Business Person of the Year Editor’s Choice Award, as well as the Nelson Mandela Metro University Business School and Absa Corporate Business Bank Business Person of the Year Award for her agricultural enterprises in Addo, Eastern Cape, among others.
After matric, Kema studied law at Fort Hare University.
Her first job was in the Eastern Cape local government department, before going on to work as a coordinator for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
She moved to Johannesburg, where over a period of 10 years she held various senior corporate positions before moving back to Eastern Cape to pursue her passion for the land.
After managing to purchase and own a few horses that produced some offspring, Kema decided to branch out into horse-breeding.
In 2008, she founded Africa Race International (ARI), an initiative set out to establish the biggest horse-racing event on the African continent.
“It was my vision to create the biggest thoroughbred horse-racing event in Africa. As chairman of the board, I was the driver and visionary behind the project.
“The annual race will take place in Plettenberg Bay and thoroughbred horses representing African countries will be given the opportunity to compete in a prestigious annual event in Africa.”
The race will be the largest of its kind in Africa with a staggering R25 million main prize.
“We expect this to upgrade horse-racing in South Africa and Africa and provide a big boost for the local horse-racing industry, mainly because it will open up a new African market to the South African industry and its partners.”
In the little spare time she has, the mother of three likes to cook, read autobiographies and spend time with her daughters.
“I like spending my weekends at home with my fiancé, a British national, watching Formula One during the season and this has become one of my interests.”
Kema’s fiancé is a retired motorsport legend, and in fact, he has had a large influence on the ARI concept. “I spend considerable time in the UK, in order to be closer to my partners and to gain the expertise necessary to make ARI work.”
