Dr Snowy Khoza named one of 100 Most Influential African Women

Dr Snowy Khoza, CEO of the Bigen Group

Press Office: Bigen Group

Dr Snowy Khoza, dynamic trailblazer and CEO of the Bigen Group, has been honoured with a listing in the Business Leadership category of Avance Media’s 100 Most Influential African Women for 2020. This ranking is the publication’s second annual classification.

She shares this honour with 11 other South African women achievers, with the balance of the entries coming from 33 other African countries. The women were selected by Avance Media, a leading African public relations and rating firm. Nominees are exceptional candidates in the fields of diplomacy, politics, activism, entrepreneurship, business leadership and entertainment. These high achievers and trailblazers serve as excellent role models for the younger generation, maintains Prince Akpah, managing director of Avance Media.

The criteria for selection were excellence in leadership and performance, personal accomplishments, commitment to sharing knowledge, breaking the status quo and being an accomplished African woman.

“I am truly humbled and honoured and thank Avance Media for the listing. For a woman to rise to a position of influence on the African continent takes not only talent, business acumen and resilience – but also passion and determination to improving the quality of life of people, especially women and children, during this sad season of COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that women (and child) abuse has spiked in this season,” says Dr Khoza.

“We still hear about instances of gender discrimination in the workplace during the COVID-19 lockdown. It also seems the pandemic may hit women harder than men. Research indicates that gender gaps may widen during and after the pandemic, and that women’s gains in the areas of human capital and economic empowerment could be reversed. The World Economic Forum points out that domestic, sexual and gender-based violence increases during crises and during the lockdown many victims cannot escape confinement with their abusers. Furthermore, women are more exposed to the coronavirus itself as most frontline workers in health and social services are female. Also, for our continent’s many single mothers, lockdown-related loss of income has been disastrous, especially against a background of continuing inequality in remuneration. The coronavirus pandemic has, in fact, underlined the reality that the struggle is not yet over,” she says.

Sharing the platform with other CEOs as well as national presidents, diplomats, board chairs, scholars, chancellors, politicians and philanthropists on the 100-Women list, Dr Khoza – pioneer, business leader and activist – has become one of the most memorable and enduring women who are transforming the African narrative and inspiring others to take up the challenge. As the first black and female CEO of Bigen Group, an infrastructure and socio-economic development company driving socio-economic change through innovative infrastructure development and engineering solutions, she passionately supports the group in its purpose of “doing good while doing business”, which includes creating life-changing development impact in disadvantaged communities across the continent.

Dr Khoza’s passion for uplifting the disadvantaged is also expressed in her private life, where she has worked tirelessly to create sustainable support systems for children and families in need of care, poor and disabled people, youth at risk as well as women living in marginalised black communities.

More details on the 100 Most Influential African Women can be found at https://100women.avancemedia.org/