If you are looking for someone to dismantle the idea that women can’t do the tough ‘manly’ jobs, look no further than entrepreneur and industrialist Tebogo Anna Mashego.
The 34-year-old South African native, born in Rustenburg, is the Founder and CEO of Ditsogo Projects Proprietary Limited. In a leap of faith in 2012, Mashego left a cushy corporate job to create her own private business in steel and metal manufacturing. Ditsogo, located right in her hometown, specializes in drawings, steel engineering, welding and exports products to Kenya, Zambia and Malawi.
Mashego did her industry research, traveling to Germany to discover the best practices to compete and thrive in the male-dominated industry. She then brought her finding back to her company, which is 100-percent owned and managed by women.
Prior to building Ditsogo from the ground up, Mashego was an Enterprise Development Administrator at Shanduka Black Umbrellas, as well as a Marketing Executive at Morabo Mining & Consulting. She also served as a Managing Director of Diep K Steel And Aluminium, a Senior Secretary for Maintenance Planning at City Power Johannesburg, and a Human Resources Administrator at the National Department of Health.
Ditsogo’s roster is steadily growing to be as long as her resume, boasting a who’s who list of clientele that includes South African National Parks, Glencore, Royal Bafoking Platinum, and the United Nations, to name a few. The University of Johannesburg alumna has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including being part of a South African delegation of entrepreneurial women who went to Chicago in 2011 as part of South Africa Women’s Business Forum.
Going forward, Mashego and her team aim to continue to hold the torch for young women in the industrial field, all while debunking myths about women being afraid of the work.
Culled from OkayAfrica.com
