Smashing the gender barrier

MASERU – SHE was born and raised in Quthing, in a deeply patriarchal society, where most people believed that a woman’s place is in the kitchen.

But that did not deter Rethabile Mafura from her quest to dominate in a field generally viewed as a preserve of men.

Mafura, 35, is a vital cog in the energy sector, where she is the only woman leading a power company.

She says limiting women’s abilities to specified fields of work has resulted in economic stagnation in many countries.

Mafura is the head of the African Clean Energy (ACE).

She says she is striving to see the girl-child empowered and is encouraging women to take a stand and assert themselves in fields of their choice.

Mafura, who was raised in Quthing, Mount Moorosi, is the first woman Country Director at the African Clean Energy, which was established in Lesotho in 2011.

The ACE is a B-Corp certified enterprise focused on enabling decentralised access to clean energy in rural households.

The company specialises in manufacturing a device which uses a combination of thermal and electric generation to provide a clean, smokeless cooking experience for users.

The solar-powered electricity it generates can also be used for phone charging and household lighting.

The ACE is a manufacturer, exporter and retailer that has spread its wings into Kenya, Uganda and Cambodia.

Mafura says after completing her Matric in South Africa, she enrolled at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, studying communication science.

After graduating, she acquired a scholarship to study International Business at Allan University.

Returning to Lesotho, Mafura got to work in the communication industry, but said she did not quite enjoy being in the industry “due to some experiences”.

She said she had another job as a receptionist at Vodacom Lesotho.

In seven years, she got the opportunity to be promoted into other departments, including the sales and credit control office.

In 2019, Mafura got a new job at the ACE as an office administrator and human resource officer.

“It had been my dream to bring change to people. I saw the position as a good opportunity,” said Mafura, adding that at first she wanted to use the position to hire more qualified and experienced people.

However, she realised that youth, especially women, were the most vulnerable and frustrated group due to the high unemployment rate among graduates.

“It also came to my mind that most girls in the country are pushed to do house chores… it is their responsibility to start the fire for cooking as well as to collect fire wood.

“I then thought that a stove device would create a better platform for women to penetrate through the energy sector,” said Mafura.

She says founders of the company, the father and son team of Stephen and Ruben Walker, had to leave the company and return back home in the Netherlands for health reasons.

Mafura said Lesotho is unlike other countries where company managers are relatives of the founders.

“The founders selected me to be the country director,’’ she said, beaming with pride and adding that accepting the offer was “the hardest decision” she had to make since the company was in a bad state.

“My biggest fear was that the company would fail under my leadership,’’ she recalled.

“However, I had to take the risk and from that moment my life changed,” she said.

She had to change her lifestyle, her behaviour and her mentality.

“I had to think and keep the company afloat. I had to make some tough decisions about retrenching workers. A lot of workers from the whole production side were retrenched and production almost stopped,” she recalled.

She says the number of staff was reduced from 150 to 120, and they had to reduce it further to 90 because the company could not afford to pay them.

Mafura said the company did not only recover from that setback, but it has also managed to open up 11 new stores in the country with support from the European Union.

She mentions Butha-Buthe, Ribaneng, Ha-Lejone, Thaba-Tseka, Nazareth, Motsekuoa, Mafeteng, Semonkong, and Mphaki as places where the ACE has opened new stores.

She says they are planning to open stores in more locations countrywide.

“We are seeking to open up to 23 stores around the country,” she said.

Mafura said they managed to hire 15 trainees for the 11 new shops.

“We are seeking to have three workers in each store, especially women,” said Mafura.

“Even in the factory we encourage women to apply and we provide training for women on how to conduct themselves during interviews, especially when it comes to making firm decisions such as salary enquiries.”

She said the organisation has been recognised as one of the most competent B-Corp certification companies in the world in the energy sector.

B Corp Certification is a designation that shows that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on factors ranging from employee benefits to charity, supply chain practices and input materials.

Mafura said she also had an opportunity to be an ambassador at a forum held in Rwanda under a mentorship programme for women and clean cooking directed by Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET), CCA, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

Mafura said her company is currently sponsoring a youth soccer team as part of its social responsibility programme.

She says as part of empowering disabled people, they have hired three people living with disability.

She says the company also recently hired a technician in sign language to improve communication with deaf employees.

“One of them is a supervisor in production and he is doing well,” she said.

Mafura said the company is led by four women who are younger than 35, as part of empowering women in the energy sector.

“However, being a woman leader is one of the most challenging tasks ever as one has to take care of the family and focus on the company as well.”

Female managers still face resistance, she said.

“It is not easy to be accepted even by other women,” said Mafura.

Refiloe Mpobole