By Rorisang Modiba
- Tlhologelo Leso and Ruth Shai launched Lekompo Network after struggling to find exposure and mentorship as young musicians in Limpopo’s creative industry.
- The platform has already featured several Limpopo artists and plans skills workshops, mentorships and funded opportunities for young creatives within two years.
Tlhologelo Leso spent years trying to make it as a musician in Limpopo. The exposure was not there. The mentorship was not there. The platforms that existed charged artists to be seen — and the artists who needed them most could not afford to pay.
He was not alone. Limpopo’s creative economy sits in the shadow of a province where mining drives roughly 90% of all economic activity. Creative infrastructure is thin. Talent that does not find a foothold locally tends to leave for Gauteng or the Western Cape. Many do not come back.
Leso eventually shifted direction. In 2021 he discovered a talent for public relations and began working with emerging artists, helping secure newspaper coverage and radio interviews. One of the first was Blaq Queen SA. Seeing what a well-placed media campaign could do for a career convinced him there was a better model to build.
“My personal journey as a former musician in Limpopo showed me how invisible young talent often is without proper platforms that recognise them,” Leso said.
He met Ruth Shai, then 25, in 2024 while assisting with her own music career. She had faced the same walls. By 2025 they had decided to build something together.
Lekompo Network launched as a cultural and media platform for emerging creatives in the province. It has already featured artists including Thapelo G Rabothata, Shapha Memie and vocalist Riah, as well as platforms such as the Africa Rising Music Conference and the Limpopo Music Dialogue.
“After being featured, many of these artists and organisations gained greater recognition and strengthened their brands,” Leso said.
“It proved that visibility matters.”
The long-term plan is bigger. Skills workshops in journalism, photography, broadcasting, music and digital content creation. Internships. Mentorship programmes. Funding initiatives for artists who cannot access the system on their own. Leso said the first programmes could begin within two years if the network secures funding and sponsorship.
“In five years, success means hundreds of young creatives employed, mentored and trained through our network,” Leso said.
Pictured above: Lekompo Network founders Tlhologelo Leso and Ruth Shai.
Image source: Supplied
