Grace does not mind getting her hands dirty

Tapping into a male-dominated industry was never easy for female business owner Ms Grace Mabogo Thovhakale, who is doing exceedingly well for herself today in the cement-blending industry.

Thovhakale, a resident of Maebani village outside Louis Trichardt, is a born entrepreneur who started out by selling soft drinks in the Louis Trichardt area while she studied for her degree in music and education at the University of Venda. She paid her tuition fees out of the profit she made from her soft drinks business.

On graduating, Thovhakale was employed as a teacher at Soutpansberg Primary School in Louis Trichardt in 2004. In 2009, however, she made the decision to start her own business. She organised a meeting with a prominent cement manufacturer in Gauteng to discuss the possibility of venturing into this type of industry herself. After another period of five years, Thovhakale left her teaching job to open a cement-manufacturing company, called Tiger Build Group, in Westonaria, Gauteng.

Between 2009 and 2012, Thovhakale managed to make significant inroads into this industry and her name became synonymous with cement. She is currently the only female who owns a cement-blending company in South Africa and is well-known in the industry for her tenacity, enterprise, and resilience.

“Coming from a poor background should not make you look down on yourself. Instead, it should be motivation you to strive for something better,” she said.

Thovhakale is a natural entrepreneur and leader, and it comes as no surprise that her work experience has been characterised by directorships in several companies between 2012 and 2017. She has been executive director and manager at various industries, including farming, logistics, tourism, and commodities around Louis Trichardt. In 2018, she decided once again to venture into the cement business with a better understanding of this industry and its supporting value.

“It is not every woman’s dream to wake up in the morning and say, ‘I want my hands messy with ash and wear boots and protective clothes for my daily routine.’ It takes guts - an initiator, visionary, community builder and go-getter to make it work in a male-dominated industry,” she said.

Thovhakale has a special passion for entrepreneurship and developing and encouraging women and the youth in the SMME environment to tap into the country’s economic mainstream.

“I’m very focused on creating a platform for other women to enter the economic space by establishing business ventures, particularly in the cement industry. My vision is to create a flagship black-woman-owned cement-manufacturing company that will traverse even the South African borders and provide services to the SADC region and beyond,” she said.

Date:23 January 2022

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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