She previously held the positions of co-founder and chief executive officer at Sigma Capital and CEO at the Shanduka Group.

[8] In 2008, Mahanyele-Dabengwa completed Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government executive education program "Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century".

[3] Mahanyele-Dabengwa joined Fieldstone Private Capital Group in New York City, an international investment banking firm specialising in infrastructure development.

[3] Of her return to South Africa from a successful career in the United States, which some have seen as unusual, she said "where else in the world would it make sense for a black woman to be?

[13] At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. in 2014, Mahanyele-Dabengwa was the only African woman on a panel for “Expanding Opportunities: The New Era For Business In Africa”, moderated by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.