Empowering women for growth
A diverse group of women joined the Chair of the AfroCentric Board and Community Investment Holdings, Dr Anna Mokgokong, for her annual Women’s Networking Weekend, which aims to empower women to reach their full potential.
The theme of this year’s event, held at the Mount Grace Hotel in Magaliesberg, was “Shades of Strength” and this was evident throughout the weekend. Perfect weather welcomed the ladies, and an amazing gala dinner echoed the beauty of the venue in the décor and ladies who attended.
Women from various organisations that are close to Dr Anna through her many business and personal relationships attended, including the keynote speaker at the dinner, Dr Nomonde Mabuya.
Dr Mabuya humbly took guests through her life journey, from growing up in Soshanguve and Mabopane to her mother’s insistence that she study medicine at Wits as there were no other institutions at the time where Africans could be admitted without prior permission from the government to attend. Her story continued post-graduation, ultimately to where she is today, a well-known businesswoman with many accolades behind her name. Dr Mabuya further addressed breaking down barriers during apartheid and thriving in traditionally male dominated areas, saying, “As women, we need to stand our ground, equip ourselves and be curious so that we can unleash our true potential.”
Saturday was filled with more stories from incredible women via a panel discussion facilitated by Dr Anna, including her sister Professor Sesae Mpuchane, a retired professor of Microbiology at the University of Botswana, and Yvonne Maitin, Head of Unlisted Investments at Public Investment Corporation (PIC), who spoke about their career journeys, the challenges they faced, their resilience and how they traversed the path to success.
To balance out the women power in the room, Financial Advisor Louis Fourie gave guests practical financial advice in a presentation titled “Timeless Money Principles for High Achievers”, and Robin Banks, international motivational speaker, accelerated the energy in the room with his “Power of the Mind “session. It was easy to understand why he is a world-famous motivational speaker, leaving the ladies even more focused, inspired and invigorated.
Thoughts from attendees
Dr Tumi Mahlangu, Dental Advisor at DENIS, said the event, which coincided with Women’s Month, was transformative. The speakers showed how it was possible to be a trailblazer in corporate South Africa.
She added, “The talks contained suitable advice for us and for our families, proving the truth of the saying, ‘When you educate a woman, you educate a generation’. It was comforting to know they also experienced the hardships and challenges that burden us as women, and that overcoming those hurdles is possible. We engaged with one another on our strengths and weaknesses, which was eye-opening as we realised that for the most part, we all have similar hopes, desires and dreams for ourselves and the greater community.”
The conference was the ideal way to close off Women’s Month, affirming some fundamental truths of success, namely the power of thought as a determiner of success, the importance of networks to achieve goals, the value of education and hard work as a segway into the right spaces, and above all, retaining one’s feminine power and identity.
Dr Mahlangu expressed her gratitude to Dr Anna, saying: “It was an absolute honour and privilege to be amongst so many women who are doing so well in their respective fields.”
