AGENCY SPOTLIGHT
AGENCY SPOTLIGHT
From Copper Mines to Coastal Markets
Before she was a top-performing real estate professional, Leza Ford spent 17 years on the copper mines in Phalaborwa, rising to personnel superintendent. The mines taught her the art of negotiation, discipline, and composure under pressure— skills she would later repurpose for the property market. Returning to the Eastern Cape, Ford found her way into real estate, quickly discovering she preferred calling her own shots.
In 2016, with her children’ s unequivocal encouragement—“ Do it, Mom!”— Ford opened her own boutique office at Crossways and named it Jikeleza Properties: a word chosen for its African resonance and subtle echo of her name. It was a lean, hands-on operation that mirrored her ethos: if you can’ t do it wholeheartedly, don’ t do it at all.
“ I don’ t want to duck behind an aisle at the local store. I want to walk with pride knowing I’ ve acted ethically.”— Leza Ford
16 REI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2025