How women are shaping the future of logistics in South Africa

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South Africa's logistics sector remains traditionally male-dominated, but women are increasingly making their mark across national operations.

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With women also occupying influential positions in transport policy, including the national Transport Minister, the industry is seeing a gradual shift in who shapes its future.

One such leader is Lebo Mbethe, Group Executive and Board Member at Reinhardt Transport Group. Her journey from owning a small trucking business to serving on the executive committee of a major Southern African logistics group shows the emerging opportunities for women - and the determination needed to seize them.

"What I find encouraging today is that seeing women in logistics no longer feels quite as unusual," says Mbethe. "There are more women across the industry and, importantly, we're seeing them move beyond traditional support functions into operations, commercial roles, and leadership."

From five trucks to the boardroom

Born and raised in Witbank, now Emalahleni, Mbethe grew up in an entrepreneurial family, helping in her parents' shops and businesses. After completing a BCom in Accounting at the University of Cape Town, she went on to complete an executive education programme through Oxford Princeton in London.

Her introduction to logistics came in 2006, when she established a small trucking business with five vehicles transporting coal from one of her brother's mines to Eskom. Although the venture was challenging, it gave her an early understanding of the industry's demands and the complexities of running a transport operation.

"I was a young woman trying to find my way in an industry that was overwhelmingly male," she recalls. "I remember walking into meetings and operational environments and often being one of very few women in the room. You learnt quite quickly that you had to be willing to learn and confident enough to hold your own."

Mbethe subsequently moved into fuel importing and distribution, founding Advent Oil in 2010, where she remains CEO. But it was in 2016 that her relationship with Reinhardt Transport Group began, when she approached them as a prospective fuel supplier. What started as a commercial relationship developed into an opportunity to join the business as a shareholder and executive.

She admits her first reaction was to decline: "I had already lost enough money with my five little trucks, and now these people wanted me to take a risk on 600 of them!"

After further discussions, she ultimately recognised the importance of working alongside an entrepreneurial leadership team: "Sometimes our first instinct is to say no because we're allowing an old experience or an old fear to make a new decision for us. Sometimes you have to give an opportunity a chance, even when it scares you, because you really never know where it might lead."

Why diverse leadership matters

As women gain greater representation in logistics, Mbethe believes they bring a wider range of experiences and perspectives into business decisions.

"When everyone around a table has similar backgrounds and experiences, it is very easy to approach problems in similar ways. Bringing women into those conversations naturally broadens the thinking," she says.

For Mbethe, effective logistics leadership requires balancing commercial performance with an understanding of the people behind the numbers.

"Logistics can be incredibly operational — trucks, kilometres, fuel, margins, utilisation and efficiencies — but behind every one of those numbers are people. Drivers,

"But as women, when those doors open, we also have to be willing to walk through them."