Dimakatso Sekhoto, 34, has no interest in being a conformist.
In 2011 she left the high-rise buildings of Sandton and her job as a financial adviser at one of the country’s biggest investment banks to work in agriculture. If that comes as a surprise to you, don’t worry.
It was just as much of a surprise to her. “It was quite spontaneous,” she recalls. “My father bought a farm in the Free State in 2008 and asked me if I wanted to work for him three years later.”
As managing director of Makolobane Farmers Enterprise, Sekhoto is responsible for the financial well-being of the company and its employees. She also networks with clients and brings in business.
“I’ve always wanted to work with people, so it’s the perfect job. Plus, I feel like I’m learning something new every day because agriculture’s completely different from what I used to do.”
If there’s one thing she’d change about the agriculture sector, it’s the lack of gender parity. “I’m a young black woman; you don’t see that many of us in the industry. I’m usually the only woman in business meetings. That needs to change.”
