Business Class Women: South Africa’s Leading Women in Aviation – Siza Mzimela (First Black Woman to Own A Commercial Airline) and Sibongile Sambo (First Woman to Own an Aviation Company in Africa)
 |
| Siza Mzimela (image: www,connectcitizen.co.za) |
At first when I used to think of pioneering women in the aviation industry I would definitely think of Amelia Earhart but I am glad that today I can now drop a few African women's names who are not pilots but aviation company owners with a lot of pride.
I started my post thinking that I would only be focusing on the enterprising Siza Mzimela but while researching, I stumbled across an important game changer by the name of Sibongile Sambo and I am inspired immensely by these women as they have definitely taken on a very male dominated industry and have continued to pave the way for other women to enter into it too.
Fly Blue Crane is the first black woman owned airline. The local South African airline was founded by former South African Airways (SAA) CEO, Siza
Mzimela. Mzimela started her career as an analyst at SAA in 1996 and ascended
to the CEO position of the international airline for the period of 2010 – 2012. Fly Blue Crane
was launched on the 1st of September 2015.
 |
| (image: www.anna.aero) |
Mzimela owns 70% of Fly Blue Crane. The other shareholders
are the airline’s General Manager Theunis Potgieter who holds a 20% stake and Jerome Simelane with 10% shares. In an interview, Mzimela stated
that the airline employed 104 people (as of June 2016) and majority of its
employees were young black women.
Fly Blue Crane operates low cost services to Bloemfontein,
Johannesburg, Kimberley, Cape Town, Mthatha and George. In 2016, it received approval to schedule flights from Cape Town to Windhoek and was in the process of applying for licensing rights
for Mozambique and Swaziland.
Mzimela has broken many boundaries in the aviation industry
by adding some colour to the lily white boardrooms. She was once appointed the
African Airlines Association chairwoman and she became the first woman to be
appointed to the International Air Transport Association, in the organization’s
71 year history. She has definitely fought all stereotypes, be it racial and
gender. In an interview with Runway Girl Network, she said: “The truth of the matter is you have to
accept up-front that your road will be more difficult than the pale white male
sitting next you. Instead of moaning and complaining, just get on with it. You
will have to always have to be better than them because they will only ignore
you up to a point. It’s unfair, but you spend less time complaining and more
time finding a way to move on and break through regardless of the difficulties.
Be mentally prepared that climbing that mountain will be different, but I’m
prepared to climb to the top. It’s your job to say ‘nothing will stop me, I’m
going to make it’.”
 |
| (image: www,runwaygirlnetwork.com) |
In the candid interview with Runway Girl Network, when asked
as to why she decided to start an airline, she explained that her ambition had
always been to create jobs. She further expressed that when she chaired the
African Airlines Association, she realized that there were a lot of talkshops
but not much was being done to grow the network on the continent. She also soberly
reflected that had she been a white male, she would have garnered a lot of
financial support. She did however acknowledge that fortunately, she has her
own networks which have seen her dream come to fruition.
On the 23rd of January 2017,
engineeringnews.co.za reported that Fly Blue Crane had filed for voluntary business
rescue in order to re-engineer and facilitate the airline’s rehabilitation. Etienne
Naude, the business rescue practitioner, was quoted saying that he was confident
that the airline would overcome its current problems and would definitely prosper in the future. This move has seen the pausing of their local flights as they want to fine tune their destinations too. I definitely am rooting for Fly Blue Crane
and believe that it will come back better and even more competitive.
What Siza Mzimela has done for all women all over the world
is monumental. Representation matters. It is important that we see more women
breaking boundaries in order for the next generation of women to know that it is
possible, it has been done before and that they can do it even better as women like Mzimela have laid the foundation and are passing on the baton. Late last year we saw
the release of an important movie called Hidden Figures that highlighted the role
that black women played at NASA and the aerospace industry. Young girls now
know that they can go to university and confidently apply to major in such
fields and possibly have their names in the history books one day.
 |
| (image: Twitter) |
It is bitter sweet that we are still on the narrative of “the
first woman to…” or “the first black to…”, whether we like it or not, that is
our current reality and we will continue to break glass ceilings, launch our
own airlines and bring brains and pencil skirts to the boardroom until we no
longer have to cherish such narratives as the success of women in high impact entrepreneurial and corporate roles will become a societal norm.
In order to see and celebrate the successes of female owned
companies, we need to also support them, we need to Fly Blue Crane when
travelling local routes, government should also jump on to the bandwagon and
support the growth of such companies. In an interview, the airline's spokesperson
Bettina Mtetwa indicated that although Fly Blue Crane was the country’s first
majority black female-owned commercial airline, it had never gained any
financial support from the government. That definitely needs to change as Fly
Blue Crane will soar and spread the good story that South Africa has to tell
about its women who know that the sky is no longer the limit.
 |
| Sibongile Sambo (image: ourstorymatters.net) |
Another woman that I am excited about in the aviation
industry is Africa's first female aviation company founder, Sibongile Sambo. After
she was rejected by SAA when she applied to be one of their flight attendants (height restrictions), she decided to start her own company. Sibongile Sambo sold her car and
used her mother’s pension money to start her business. That was definitely an enormous risk that she took. Sambo still owns 100% of her company today.
In 2004, Sambo’s SRS Aviation was commissioned for its first
flight by the South African government.
According to SRS Aviation’s website, the company is “…the
African distributor of new and overhauled aircraft spare parts for the
commercial, commuter, corporate, Military and Cargo aerospace Industries.” They
also provide the following services; the leasing, rental, maintenance, fleet
management and sales of aircrafts, VIP charter and helicopter game count and capture.
The company has extended its brand to also provide
personalized and bespoke services of helicopter, tourist and luxury flights to
destinations all over the world.
 |
| (image: www.ourstoriesmatter.net) |
In an interview with CNN, Sambo elaborated that "It could be a tourist charter for
$1,000 or could be a head of state traveling on a VIP aircraft to the United
States, which could be about $200,000" .
SRS Aviation has also helped three women obtain their
private pilot licenses and they are now full-time employed by the company. "I'm
where I am today because somebody invested in me. It's my opportunity now to
invest in other people”, said Sambo to CNN when reflecting on the feat of
assisting the female pilots.
 |
| SRS Aviation Female Pilots: Captains Elizabeth Simbi Petros and Chipo M. Matimba (image: www.ourstoriesmatter.net) |
Sambo has a BA Honours from Unisa, She has also completed an
advanced programme in organizational development from Unisa, she has obtained a
marketing certificate from IMM, and completed a Mining Executive Prep
Programme at Unisa. She is currently completing her Masters in the Management of
Technology and Innovation in Aviation.
Before SRS Aviation, Sambo worked for organisations such as Telkom,
City Power and De Beers and more.
Sambo has been recognized internationally for her work and is
a member in different organizations all over the world including the Think-Tank of
the World Entrepreneurship Forum (WEF), founded in France by The Former State President
of France Mr. Sarkorzy and EMLYON Business School. She is also passionate about
mentoring young women and paying it forward.
"What I'm proud of about our company is that we have
managed to penetrate the male dominated industry. Aviation is growing in
Africa. We are going to grow with the growth in Africa." – Sibongile Sambo (CNN).
....
ReplyDeleteAwesome stuff. Imbokodo.
ReplyDelete