Shivika Singh, Mother and partner as well as CEO and Co-Founder of BetCity, a licensed South African online sportsbook and casino operator, is creating a MOVEMENT!
“A year ago, I made a decision that looked reckless from the outside. I left something stable, something safe, something everyone told me I’d be foolish to walk away from, and I stepped into a version of my career that had no map, no guarantee and no one waiting to catch me if it went wrong.
I didn’t have a five-year plan. I had a gut feeling that I was capable of more than the room I was standing in would ever let me become. And I’ve learned, since then, that this is a feeling almost every woman I admire in this industry has had at some point deep down inside, an unshakable knowing that you weren’t meant to shrink to fit somebody else’s ceiling.
What got me through that uncertainty wasn’t confidence, it was grit on the days I doubted everything and grace on the days that broke me a little. It was showing up prepared when no one expected me to be. It was staying kind when it would have been easier to become hard. A year later, I had something I couldn’t have promised anyone I’d have when I started: Proof that the leap was worth it!
But here’s what I’ve come to believe matters more than my own story, none of us built anything alone. Every woman who has ever taken that leap did it standing on the shoulders of someone who opened a door, said a hard truth at the right moment, or simply believed in her before she believed in herself.
So, as the “World” celebrate women this Women’s Day, I made a decision to instead of just telling my story, I want to pass the mic to the women in this industry who’ve done exactly this for me, and for countless others, often without ever being thanked publicly for it.
Their stories are next. Read them! Write them! Share them! And, if there’s a woman who opened a door for you, tell her story today and pass the mic to her publicly, don’t wait for August to say it, say it TODAY!
My first mic belongs to Helen Stewart , a woman of grit and grace who opened a door for me at one of the biggest turning points of my life: my move to Johannesburg. She didn’t just open that door for me. She’s done it for countless other women across the gaming and hospitality industry, quietly making room for people to step into versions of their careers they hadn’t yet dared to imagine.
That’s the kind of leadership that rarely makes headlines. It doesn’t come with a title or a stage. It comes with someone believing in you before you’ve proven anything and then getting out of the way so you can prove it to yourself.
To all the women out there reading this article, join the MOVEMENT! It’s your turn to thank the woman that inspired you. Keep the movement going and pass the mic…”
About the author: Shivika Singh is CEO and Co-Founder of BetCity, a licensed South African online sportsbook and casino operator. She has built her career across South African gaming and hospitality, and now leads BetCity’s mission to build a differentiated, compliance-first brand in a regulated market.
