Sibongile Sambo, a rejected flight attendant, took the ultimate revenge by turning her passion for flying into her own airline, SRS Aviation South Africa.
It was a childhood dream for a young girl from South Africa, Sibongile Sambo, who dreamt of flying and loved looking at airplanes. As an aviation enthusiast, she looked forward to joining a leading airline, South African Airways.
Unfortunately, she was rejected for the role of a flight attendant when she was unable to meet their minimum height requirements.
you might like: dr carl allamby from ohio fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a doctor at 51!
Not one to lose heart, she dared to dream even bigger, and instead of applying for jobs at other airlines, she decided to start her own. Of course, the journey was far from easy, filled with limitations, fears, and doubts.
To raise the initial capital, she sold off her car, and combining it with her mother’s pension, procured a flying license from the South African Civil Aviation Authority. As she moved forward, she raised more capital for renting airplanes, employing staff, and other expenses.
It was very challenging for a lone woman, without a strong financial background to start her own airline in a male-dominated society. Yet today, at 42, Sambo is the only black woman in the African continent to own an airline company.
Her company, SRS Aviation, took its first flight in 2004, which was commissioned by the South African government.
SRS Aviation offers chartered flights to various destinations across the globe, including chartered planes, helicopters, tourist, and luxury flights. These flights start from Johannesburg to locations as far as Germany and even the USA.
For a regular tourist, chartered flight prices start at $1,000, while a head of state flying to the USA on a VIP aircraft would pay around $200,000, according to Sambo’s statements to CNN regarding SRS Aviation’s pricing.
Not only has Sambo achieved her dream of flying, but she has also helped at least three other African women procure their private pilot licenses, and are now full-time employees of SRS Aviation.
To help her company in their day-to-day operations, Sambo has collaborated with another company called MCC Aviation, who help them by providing aircraft, operational, and technical support.
Sambo believes her growth in the aviation sector of Africa, will help her and the continent while also encouraging other women to take up jobs in the industry. She now wants to support other budding entrepreneurs by investing in their ideas, just like her early investors did when she was struggling.
Sambo’s story proves that with enough determination, no dream is too big to achieve!
