Bertha Dlamini: Accelerating

Participation of African Women and Youth in Africa’s Energy and Power sector

Defining the characteristics of a decisive leader, advocating for accelerated participation of African Women and Youth in Africa’s Power and Energy Sector, Ms. Bertha Dlamini has set herself as a foresighted entrepreneur.

As the Founder & Group CEO of the Rito Group of Companies Pty Ltd, Bertha directs and delivers marketing communication strategies, stakeholder relations, and established centers of excellence for change management for clients in the public and private sectors.

Bertha has an impressive track record as Stakeholder Management Strategist with exceptional campaign design and execution since 1999.

Let us know more about her journey

Making the Mark

Bertha is the founding President of African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP) (www.aweap.africa), an organisation she founded to accelerate the participation of African women entrepreneurs in the entire value chain of power and energy in Africa and contribute towards addressing the continent’s energy poverty.

Bertha is leveraging her experience and vast network in Africa’s power and energy sector to mobilize global stakeholders to work together to remove barriers that prevent effective youth and women participation in Africa’s power and energy sector.

Bertha is an astute international public speaker, conference speaker, and moderator with a proven track record in such international events as the BRICS Business Council, PowerGen Africa Conferences, African Utility Week Conferences, ABB

Customer World, International Energy and Environment Fair, and Conferences, Zambia Entrepreneurship Summit, South African Power Pool Conference, Energy

Storage Conference, Standard Bank Employee Engagement seminars, and AMEU Conferences.

As the Founding Chairman of Gen X Theatre Africa (Gen X) (www.genxtheatre.africa), an initiative geared towards accelerating youth participation in Africa’s power and energy sector, she has enabled 60 young professionals and students to present abstracts of their academic papers to an esteemed team of adjudicators at international sector events.

Awards & Accolades

Bertha is currently the recipient of the following awards:

● The Inaugural South African Institute of Electrical Engineers 2019 Women in Engineering Award.

● African Queens in Energy – The Judges Award, supporting women entrepreneurs in energy and power 2021.

● Women of Stature: Finalist CEO of the Year 2022

She holds the following industry roles:

● BRICS Business Council, South African Chapter: Energy and Green Economy

Working Group – BRICS Just Energy Transition Center of Excellence Lead

● University of South Africa (UNISA) Graduate School of Business Leadership: Advisory Board Member

● ABB Education Trust: Trustee

● SALGA’s Energy Reference Group (ERG): ERG Member

● South Africa, Office of the President, Women’s Economic Assembly: Energy Sector Workstream Lead

● Non-Executive Director: Energy Drive Pty LTD

Ms. Dlamini is a highly rated and trusted industry player in Africa’s energy sector.

In March 2021, at the WVL SADC Protocol@Work Summit held in Johannesburg, AWEaP won the WVL SADC Protocol@Work Climate Change 2021 Award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the promotion of gender equity in Africa’s Energy and Power Sector.

She holds the following qualifications:

● Energy Transition Diploma: Skolkovo Moscow School of Management, Russia;

● MBA in Executive Management – Graduate School of Business – University of Cape Town, South Africa, thesis awarded with a distinction.

● Programme for Management Development (PMD 37) Gordon Institute of Business Science; South Africa

● Management Advancement Programme (MAP) at Wits Business School, South Africa