Dr Snowy Khoza, Chief Executive Officer of leading infrastructure development company Bigen Africa, was recently recognised for her lifelong struggles, aspirations and achievements at the Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government awards. Along with six other phenomenal women, Dr Khoza received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the South African category at a prestigious function hosted by CEO Communications at the Gallagher Convention Centre on 30 July.

The annual awards are the culmination of a year-long Africa-wide programme which includes the judging of thousands of nominations through an external process facilitated by an independent chairperson. The South African awards function was the first of nine events to take place across Africa, to facilitate networking opportunities between all regions of the continent.

The right kind of leader
Through much more than her career achievements, Dr Khoza has proven that she is the kind of leader that South Africa needs to bring its women to the forefront of success in business and other spheres. The epitome of the “new” African woman rising from humble beginnings to achieve great heights, she strives to include others in her journey of success through providing opportunities and encouragement.

During the awards function, awards organiser and CEO of CEO Holdings Ms Annelize Wepener said:  “In our daily lives, there are those who have chosen to take the baton from the late Mandela and endeavour to ensure that his legacy shall live on.  These are individuals whose success is determined by bringing positive change to their peers and their communities.  There will be a few individuals in our midst that attain Life Achievement Award status in their lifetimes and when such people do, recognition is due where it is deserved.  The Lifetime Achievement Awards recognise those women who have put others before self, simply because the world is a much better place when its occupants are happy.”

African jewel
At the Australia-Africa Women in Leadership Forum hosted by the Australian government in Pretoria in July, Dr Khoza shone as one of more than 30 such “African jewels” from 13 countries convened to participate in discussions focused on Shaping the Future: Increasing Leadership and Opportunity for African Women. Dr Khoza also hosted the delegates at the Bigen Africa offices in Pretoria and after sharing her inspiring story, received numerous letters of heartfelt gratitude.

“Growing up in Hammanskraal, where I was raised by my maternal grandmother, using her pension to feed us, I was forced to stop school at the age of 13 to go and work in a factory in Babelegi, earing R3 a week,” she remembers. “Those days, child labour was not an issue as the apartheid government did not care about the welfare of black people. I saved some of this money to be able to go back to school. With the support of other bursaries such as the Councils of Churches, Race relations, Ethel Ericson Trust and Institute of International Relations, I managed to complete my high school education and obtain post-doctoral degrees. I was determined to fight my way out of extreme poverty, even if it meant sitting outside on a winter’s evening to do my homework in the glow of a street light, because there were no candles to light at home.

“Because of my difficult journey, which included the Soweto riots and university riots where we fought for the release of Nelson Mandela, nothing in life could be more challenging. My resilience came from this and no matter what life throws at me, I face it with the determination to win. It is also because of this that I have so much passion for the development of women and girls.”

Today, with more than a handful of solid qualifications to her name – including a PhD in Social Policy and an MBA – and as the top executive at Bigen Africa, she is eager to facilitate the transformation of thousands of other impoverished and socially deprived Africans. In her private capacity, she has enabled several disadvantaged children to attend school so that they can be equipped with essential skills. She believes that education is the only tool young people have for improving their lives and those of others.

Dr Khoza has extended her passion into the culture of Bigen Africa, where the Intuthuko Foundation, the company’s instrument for addressing socio-economic development imperatives in Africa, is a catalyst for creating socio-economic investment opportunities for corporates through coordinating strategic partnerships.

At the awards, which included a keynote address by advocate Thuli Madonsela, the five other South African Lifetime Achievers honoured were Natalie Knight, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Professor Carolina Koornhof, Dr Elmin Steyn and Dr Esper Ncube. Awards were also given in 20 other categories, such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing, engineering and aviation.