BY IRENE MOYO TWENTY-SEVEN-year-old Novuyo Hlabangana from Tsholotsho has broken new ground after she established her civil engineering firm to promote growth and development in her rural Matabeleland North province.
Hlabangana’s Lucent Designs company was established in 2017.
She told Southern Eye that she always had a dream of establishing a construction company from childhood and said enrolling for a civil engineering course at the Bulawayo Polytechnic fuelled her motivation.
“I was born and raised in a community where a brighter future seemed bleak. The only thing I had was hope. Tsholotsho has often suffered stereotypes and is seen as an area where nothing good is expected. I wanted to prove pessimists and show that women from the district are capable of bringing change,” Hlabangana said.
“I wanted to help people from my community by giving them the best in modern architectural designs. Operating Lucent Designs has not been easy.
“It is a growing company and lately it has been growing clientele wise.”
Despite all the obstacles that Hlabangani faced along the way, she said she was grateful for the support she received from her family.
“I have been on my own trying to establish this firm, trying to push an idea into becoming a reality. However, I have been given advice by a few people in my industry,” she said.
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Hlabangana had a word of advice for young women who wish to venture into business, especially the once male-dominated fields such as civil engineering.
“My message to other young girls who feel it’s impossible to break boundaries is that they should believe in themselves, keep the focus and be their own motivators. There’s nothing impossible if you fully put your mind to it,” she said.
“Also for young girls in rural areas, Tsholotsho to be specific, having a dream is very important, even though not everyone gets the exposure they need, however with discipline, hard work, perseverance and God’s grace, you can be whatever you want to be,” the young civil engineer said.
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