Nangamso Maponya: Taking your power back
Being bold and making yourself noticeable can be the key to achieving your dreams. A great example of this is Nangamso Maponya, Principal Deal Originator for Transport Logistics & Bulk Infrastructure at the DBSA.
“She makes shooting at one’s dream seem like an easy feat,” said Thembisile Khoza, Stakeholder Management Programme Manager and gender mainstreaming specialist at the DBSA.
As a young woman, while pregnant and having dropped out of her education, she promised herself and her late parents that she would finish her qualifications. She did just that and later started at the DBSA in 2010.
She landed the opportunity by boldly saying in her interview that, “if you’re looking for someone to stay and do one thing as your secretary for three years or five years, maybe you shouldn’t hire me, because I can’t promise you that”. The person who hired her then encouraged her to find a different job in the bank within a year, and rise up in the ranks.
She encouraged other women to not simply take what is offered, but to be bold in pursuing great things. “Does that space give you an opportunity to be the best of you? Is it enough that you are fitting into a role that is already described and you are conforming?”
Maponya has shown that doing a good job and hoping to be noticed is not always enough to get to where you want to be. “I think a lot of things that happened in my journey, happened through that attitude that I need to stand out, I need somebody to see me.”
She explained that growing up as one of eight children taught her to back herself and make herself stand out. This is also how she has pursued professional and personal dreams, such as becoming a pilot and being on a board of directors.
Beyond self-confidence, a serving mindset is at the core of her success at the DBSA. “So the skill and the knowledge that we have that we keep getting from the DBSA, it is meant for us to be able to give something, and the more we give, the more we get the satisfaction. So as professionals, our contribution to society and to the country is paramount.”