He is the founder of an award-winning animation studio, Penthouse Motion Pictures, Cake Media, and Blockchain. He is also the owner of Afrobotics, a South African-based black-owned technology company.
David Phume
African technologist and entrepreneur – David Phume.
Quick Facts
Name:
David Phume
Born:
1982 (age 43 years old)
Place of birth:
Bryanston, Gauteng, South Africa
Nationality:
South African
Parents:
Dr Victor Tuwani Phume (father) Elizabeth Phume (mother)
Education:
3D animation
Alma mater:
Boston Media House
Occupation:
tech and media entrepreneur, technologist, artist, roboticist
Partner:
Bonang Matheba
Relatives:
Christina Phume (grandmother) Paul Phume (uncle)
Companies:
Penthouse Motion Pictures, Cake Media Blockchain Afrobotics
Early Life
David Phume was born in 1982 in Bryanston, Sandton, Gauteng, South Africa. He comes from a family of business-minded people.
His father, Dr Victor Tuwani Phume, is an accomplished theologian, while his mother is Elizabeth Phume. He has a sister, Ruth Phume.
His father has supported his dreams since childhood. In 1994, he was a boy living in Soweto with big dreams. His father bought him animation software, which led to his interest in animation.
In the 1990s, he and his father would stay up all night tinkering with computers and 3D animation software. They both continued until he started his first company.
Education
David Phume did a mentorship program on character Animation at Animation studio, San Francisco Mentor. He also studied robotics and AI online with Udacity, a leading ed-tech platform.
The robotics maverick also studied 3D animation at Boston Media House in Johannesburg.
Career
After his studies at Boston Media House, Phume worked as a 3D animator at Red Pepper Productions. In 2005, he established Penthouse Media (Penthouse). He is currently the Executive Creative Director at the company.
When he launched Penthouse, David was among the first young Black South Africans to enter the motion graphics and animation space. After much success with Penthouse, he launched another company Cake Media.
Cake Media deals with Advertiser Funded Programming and content distribution, among other long-form media. The company produced The Braai Show.
Phume owns the 100 percent Black-owned technology company Afrobotics. It offers end-to-end technology solutions to small, medium, and large organizations. He gained a lot of experience in Silicon Valley circles.
David Phume launched the platform Blockchain to develop young African technologists. It helps them identify and offer solutions to African problems through technology. He visited Pixar and Lucasfilm during an animation school tour.
His companies have won many awards such as the 15 Promax Awards for Penthouse. It also participated in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Personal Life
David Phume is currently dating television presenter Bonang Matheba. The duo met through a mutual friend in 2023. They share a five-year age gap.
The couple flew to Italy on vacation and met each other’s families. David bought his girlfriend a timepiece valued at over R280 000 on her birthday. His uncle, Paul Phume, is a former Mr. South Africa.
