The woman who was too short to be a flight attendant so she started her own aviation company

Sambo is the founder and owner of SRS Aviation, a company that operates fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and drones. It also offers aviation consulting services.

She was the first black woman in South Africa to own and manage an aviation company, and her interest in the field dates back to her childhood.

Born in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, in 1974, she took an interest in aircraft from an early age, watching planes fly overhead and hoping she could one day travel the world.

However, her first attempt to enter the aviation industry hit a snag when South African Airways (SAA) rejected her for a flight attendant job because she did not meet the minimum height requirement.

Sambo continued her education at the University of Zululand, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA).

She then worked as an HR Performance Consultant at Telkom in the late 1990s, and moved to Johannesburg’s City Power in 2000 as a recruitment manager.

After joining De Beers Consolidated Mines as an HR Change Manager, Sambo furthered her studies by earning a Bachelor of Administration Honours, Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UNISA.

With valuable business experience and leadership skills from her previous job, she then made her aviation dreams come true, founding SRS Aviation in 2004.

The company initially focused on brokering aviation services, but in 2006, it earned its Air Operating Certificate from the South African Civil Aviation Authority, making it the first Black-owned aviation company in South Africa to reach the milestone.

The group quickly secured its first major contract: a cargo transport deal with the South African government.

This allowed it to rapidly expand its services, and soon it was transporting heads of state, celebrities, sporting teams and peace-keeping missions across Africa.

Today, the company’s partnership with MCC Aviation gives Sambo access to a fleet of aircrafts, as well as technical and operational support.

The group has also expanded its services, helping several women get their private pilot licences, who would become full-time employees.

However, despite her company’s success, Sambo has admitted that she struggled in the male-dominated industry and that learning the “language” proved challenging.

New ventures

Sambo’s career has progressed from SRS Aviation, and she has expanded her business interests by working with several companies and government groups.

From 2009 to 2018, she was the managing director of SRS Petroleum, having received a petroleum wholesale licence in 2015.

She has also branched into aerospace manufacturing through Dynamic Aerotech and Aero Metals, two more companies which were founded in 2018 and 2020, respectively. 

In 2019, she became a board member of the Commercial Aerospace Manufacturing Association of South Africa (CAMSA).

CAMSA is a non-profit organisation established to be a growth-bilateral between government and industry to significantly boost South African commercial aerospace manufacturing exports.

She has also maintained a keen connection with the national government and policy in South Africa.

In 2022, she joined the Presidential Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council as a member, where members are drawn from the private sector, organised labour and the cabinet.

In 2023, she became a board member of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), which runs the nation’s largest airports.

She serves on the Social and Ethics, Information, Communication and Technology, and Human Resources, Remuneration and Nominations committees at ACSA.

Amidst her business successes, she has won several local and international awards, including:

• Entrepreneurship award at the Black Woman in Business Awards in London in 2006.
• The Impumelelo Top Female Entrepreneur of the year in 2006.
• Presidential Award in the Category of Youth Business Leadership at the Black Management Forum in 2008.
• Distinguished Female Business Leader of the Year Award in Dubai in 2014.
• Special Award at the Gauteng Women Excellence Awards in 2018.
• Shining Light Award presented by the Motsepe Foundation Women’s Unit in 2019.

Sambo is note resting on her laurels or current successes, and is furthering her education.

She completed her MBA in manufacturing at the GIBS Business School in 2022, and she has enrolled in the International Executive Development Programme at Rollins College in the USA.

Issued on BusinessTech by Luke Fraser | https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/827595/the-woman-who-was-too-short-to-be-a-flight-attendant-so-she-started-her-own-aviation-company/