Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams (born 30 June 1978) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Small Business Development since 5 August 2021.

[5] The following year, after the party was unbanned during the negotiations to end apartheid, she joined the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in Mthatha East.

Her expulsion was effected by a motion of no confidence without any formal disciplinary proceedings, and it was part of a wave of action against ANCYL members, also including Lehlogonolo Masoga, who were perceived as antagonistic to the leadership of league president Malema and his allies.

[5] Her fall-out with the Malema-led ANCYL leadership was viewed as having put her in political alignment with President Jacob Zuma, who was also at odds with the league.

[15] She was the youngest deputy minister in the national executive,[7] quickly became known as an avid user of social media,[16] and was one of the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans in 2011.

[19] In the reconfigured ministry, Ndabeni-Abrahams was given three main responsibilities: the transformation of print media, commissioning government content for the SABC, and managing the relationship between the department and the radio sector.

[31] She styled herself as "the commander of the fourth industrial revolution",[33] a moniker she had earlier claimed during her tenure as telecommunications deputy minister,[22] and Ramaphosa appointed her at the head of the Presidential 4IR Commission, a policy advisory body.

[31] Indeed, Ndabeni-Abrahams said that the central thrust of the newly unified portfolio was to reconfigure the mandates of state agencies in alignment with Ramaphosa's drive to leverage the fourth industrial revolution.

[35] Ndabeni-Abrahams's performance agreement included various commitments related to an undertaking to improve internet penetration in South Africa to 80 per cent by 2024.

Among other things, her targets included reducing the cost of mobile data by 50 per cent and, as promised by Ramaphosa in his 2019 State of the Nation Address,[36] facilitating the allocation and licensing of broadband spectrum by ICASA.

[37] During her term in the ministry, her critics claimed that she "was treading dangerously close to the realm of putting undue political influence" on ICASA, and she was also criticised for delays in the spectrum licensing process.

On 9 February 2019, Ndabeni-Abrahams attended an ANC event in Mount Frere, Eastern Cape for the launch of the provincial party's manifesto ahead of the upcoming general election.

"[40] Facing public criticism, Ndabeni-Abrahams released a statement on her official Twitter account, in which she said:I would like to offer my sincere apology for an earlier altercation with some members of the media during the ANC provincial rally in Mount Frere whilst trying to stop the singing comrades.

[41]Ferial Haffajee accused Ndabeni-Abrahams of "an abuse of power and an act of censorship commonly used by thugs in totalitarian states and in democratatorships", while Zakes Mda warned her not to "imagine herself Lady Legatee of the public broadcaster".

[42] The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) also expressed concern, given Ndabeni-Abrahams's ministerial role in oversight of the SABC.

The photograph (later deleted) was posted on 7 April 2020 on the Instagram page of politician Mduduzi Manana, who captioned the post, "It was great to host a former colleague and dear sister Cde Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams (Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies) on her way back from executing critical and essential services required for the effective functioning of our country during the nationwide lockdown.

Later on 7 April, Manana apologised in a statement for creating the "impression" that Ndabeni-Abrahams had attended a "social lunch", explaining that she had visited his house to organise donations of personal protective equipment by his charitable foundation.

[49] On 5 August 2021, President Ramaphosa reshuffled the national executive and appointed Ndabeni-Abrahams as Minister of Small Business Development, with Sdumo Dlamini as her deputy.