When she was growing up in Zimbabwe, Wadzanai Nenzou and her three siblings loved watching Australian TV shows.

Think Neighbours, Home & Away, Ocean Girl and more.

So when Wadzi, the 93rd person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, had the chance to study overseas, she chose Deakin University in Melbourne.

Wadzi says moving to Australia was the best thing that ever happened to her, and is grateful to her parents for financing her studies.

Wadzi has a day job she loves – she provides general financial advice to people over the phone – and a growing side hustle she loves even more.

Herconomics started in 2015 as a series of posts about women’s financial empowerment. Since then, it’s grown to include speeches and courses.

Herconomics was inspired by Wadzi’s childhood. While her mother had a good job and was financially literate, Wadzi saw many women with little money and power, because they had surrendered control of their finances – willingly or unwillingly – to men.

All this might sound terribly serious, but the thing about Wadzi is she laughs all the time. She’s got a great sense of humour, a vibrant personality and never stops smiling.