Openness might not completely eradicate prejudice, but it’s a damn good place to start.

Sebasti Badenhorst is a fourth-generation Stellenbosch graduate, one of five women in a class of 50 engineering graduates, and Witwatersrand MEng graduate; she is a breaker of glass ceilings and a change agent.

Badenhorst’s experience spans various facets of the engineering industry from civil, construction, sales and marketing, being a consulting engineer and technical expert in the cement industry right to managing a ready-mix concrete business. Also on her list of career achievements was being the sales project manager for a private business turnaround program, and today she is the national sales marketing manager at JoJo Tanks. Her technical experience and expertise include the structural design of commercial and industrial buildings, site supervision, materials engineering, temporary works design, constructability reviews, tender preparation and reviews, procurement and project management.

Her abilities and professional experience are a reflection of her big personality and balanced personal life; her skills and experience can be applied at a technical level and at a strategic and business level, making her experienced in most aspects of managing a business. These involve the building of a team, nurturing, honing of skills, and managing financial performance.

Badenhorst is passionate about giving back and part of this is evident in the level of effort she puts in community development and using her position at JoJo Tanks to give back. Through her continuous efforts, JoJo can now be ranked amongst some of the greatest South African innovations alongside the Kreepy Krawly, the Dolos, and the Cat Scan.

I love working, I can’t sit still and do nothing… I have to stay busy…

She attributes her success to hard work, a great family support system, and planning; these are integral parts of her upbringing and family culture. Badenhorst’s love for work and staying busy is an inherited trait: at 78 her father still works a full day, and her mother (a former teacher at Sebokeng) does needlework full time to stay busy.

—Anele Ngcoya

LinkedIn: @sebasti-badenhorst