Sibongile Sambo, founder and CEO of SRS Aviation. PHOTO/sibongilesambo.co.za
Pioneer female aviation entrepreneur Sibongile Sambo is the founder and CEO of SRS (Sibongile Rejoice Sambo) Aviation.
Ms. Sambo founded the company in 2004 without any formal experience in the aviation industry. She did not take on any formal debt to finance her project; rather, she relied on her family. Her mother and aunt lent her the money she needed for the company to take off.
SRS aviation found its first opportunity with the South African government, which invited aviation firms to bid on a contract for cargo transport. The contract was awarded as a joint venture between SRS aviation and a competing firm.
SRS aviation is the first black female owned aviation company in South Africa and by extension Africa. SRS aviation offers professional and personalized flight options that include VIP charter, air cargo charter, tourist transfers, medical evacuations, aerial photography and general air security services.
According to the company’s website, SRS aviation is also the African distributor of new and overhauled aircraft spare parts for the commercial, commuter, corporate, Military and Cargo aerospace Industries.
Prior to found the company, Sambo had attempted to break into aviation as a flight attendant but was always limited by the height minimum most airlines required, and took on a career in Human Resources.
Sibongile Sambo is an alumnus of the University of Zululand where she earned a Bachelors in Administration and is currently working on her Masters Degree in Management of Technology and Innovation in Aviation.
She is a holder of multiple awards: In 2006, she was a winner at the Black Woman in Business Awards (BIBA) in London; was named a “Leader of Tomorrow” by Fortune Magazine; is a member of a Think Tank of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, founded by former French President Nicholas Sarkozy, and in 2009 she was nominated for the Queen Victoria Memorial Award by the European Business Assembly.
More about Sibongile Sambo can be found here…
