The Sunday Mail
From Victoria Ruzvidzo in DURBAN South Africa
SECURICO chief executive officer Divine Ndhlukula has won the prestigious Forbes Africa Woman Businesswoman of the Year Award at a colourful ceremony held here on Friday.
She emerged victorious from a pool of hundreds other contenders from across the continent.
Dr Ndhlukula, who has grown her security business from five employees in 1998 to 4 000 presently, was commended for her entrepreneurship and efforts to empower other women through a number of initiatives she has launched over the years.
“It’s such an honour for me to receive the award on a special day like today (International Women’s Day). We are coming from very far as women in Africa. This award was totally unexpected. We don’t do what we do so that we are recognised, but there is indeed a reward for giving of ourselves and in doing what we do,” said an ecstatic Ndhlukula.
The businesswoman put Zimbabwe on the map yet again.
And the citation it all: “A locally and internationally respected role-role-player in security Simbi-Ndhlukula is also praised for her passion for female economic and social empowerment, founding the Mentorship In Practice Programme and Woman-Owned Brand Initiative.”
Securico was recently nominated on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) “list of companies to inspire Africa 2019”.
The nomination is compiled after the LSE Group collates companies nominated by its partners, development finance institutions, venture capitalists, private equity firms, impact investors and its research partner Asoko Insight.
Companies listed would have demonstrated growth over the past three years in terms of revenue, number of employees, operational output and geographical expansion.
Furthermore, the company’s revenue must not exceed $1 billion for the years 2015-2017 based on audited accounts and the firm’s auditability.
Dr Ndhlukula broke barriers in 1998 by entering into a previously male-dominated security sector. She also tagged along hundreds of women.
Today she employs about 800 women.
As a farmer, she has empowered hundreds others through her goat-breeding programmes and provides seed capital to budding entrepreneurs.
She recently secured funding to undertake an empowerment project for 11 000 women in Zimbabwe.
