SAFARI - the Progressive Business Forum website

PROFILEmember and leading role playerin SAWIC (South African Womenin Construction). The aim of thisorganisation is to be a nationwidenetworking forum for women in whatused to be a predominantly white andmale-dominated sector. The purposewas to bring women together; to assistthem to create streamlined businessesthat are properly governed and thatcomply with the laws and regulationsof the industry.Dr Ndlovu believes that, whileall of the above has been achieved,one problem still remains: access toopportunities for those women-ownedcompanies. She offers her insight intowhat might help fix this problem:“We need targeted programmes forwomen. We appeal to the Minister ofHuman Settlements to give women achance in his R50 billion rectificationprogramme of shoddy workmanshipon RDP houses. We will incubatesmall, women-owned businesses,mentor them and develop them toensure that they deliver qualityproducts. We do not need the muchmootedgovernment constructioncompany to achieve this. We need tofind ways of women accessing theR1 trillion voted for the infrastructureprogramme.”Speaking about the ProgressiveBusiness Forum (PBF), Dr Ndlovusays she sees it as an important bodyto bring business people together topromote networking and to ensurethat business continues to interactwith the ruling party and governmentin pursuing common goals. “Ichallenge the founders of this forum toconsider creating a women’s divisionof the PBF,” she says. “I believethis will go a long way in gettingour business women to interact atanother level, and explore how we canget closer, both to each other and tothe decision makers. My message tothe women of today is, as we say inmountain climbing: Keep walking!” ✥More on Motheo ConstructionThe Motheo Construction Group was established in 1997 by Dr ThandiNdlovu. Over the years, the company has completed projects in all of SouthAfrica’s provinces, bar the Western Cape. They have also completed work inmany of the country’s most remote and deeply rural areas.The core of Motheo Construction’s business is housing, specifically socialhousing, which comprises more than half the company’s annual turnover.Motheo estimates that they have thus far delivered approximately 2,5% ofall social housing developed or constructed in South Africa since 1994. Thetotal value of projects undertaken and completed by the company to date is inexcess of R3 billion.In order to grow organically, Motheo reinvests its earnings into thecompany. One of the company’s key focus areas is developing young talent.Today, Motheo boasts six black female shareholders, who hold in excess of50% of the company’s shares. Now that is female empowerment!But they haven’t stopped there. Central to the way Motheo does businessis the empowerment of all its staff as well as its associated suppliers andsubcontractors. Internally, Motheo has an established staff trust, to which apercentage of company shares are allocated debt-free. Dividend income fromthese shares is then dedicated to the development of the trust beneficiaries.The success of this initiative can be measured in the achievements of the15 trust beneficiaries, all of whom have progressed from newly qualified,inexperienced individuals to meaningful members of the Motheo team,today managing departments and projects within the company. Five of thesetrust beneficiaries have also acquired a shareholding in the company, nowcollectively holding 9,5% of Motheo’s issued share capital.Progressive women in business 45