Online Reporter
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
Features Writer
JOSEPHINE TAKUNDWA strikes a serious pause when she speaks about being accustomed to life as “one skirt among many suits”.
For more than two decades, she has navigated the male-dominated electrical sector, learning to hold her own in rooms where women have often been the minority.
Now, following her election as the third female president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) since 1980, Takundwa has found herself in the limelight once again.
The only other women to have occupied the revered seat are Mrs Marah Hativagone and Dr Divine Ndhlukula.
The shoes they wore in the business sector were big ones.
Mrs Hativagone became the first black woman to hold the ZNCC presidency, while Dr Ndhlukula, the celebrated entrepreneur and founder of Securico Security Services, earned a reputation as the queen of security.
With her own profile as founder and managing director of Earthlink Technologies, a company providing electrical power protection and solutions mainly in voltage stabilisation, backups, power projects, power line extensions and general electrical services, Takundwa appears ready to fill those big shoes in her own way.
“This is a commonplace, that it’s difficult for women to rise to positions of leadership, not only in Zimbabwe, but even across the world.
“But one thing that greatly assisted me is that I have been working in the male-dominated electrical field for the past 23 years. Many times, I am the one skirt at a table among so many suits,” she said in a recent interview.
Beyond Earthlink Technologies, Takundwa has also built her business acumen through Sesame for Life, a company that supports farmers to grow the crop for export markets.
Her four years in agribusiness, she acknowledges, also equipped her with valuable experience.
While Takundwa may now be an inspiration to women aspiring to occupy influential positions in business, her journey to the ZNCC top seat has been one of persistence, consistency and self-belief.
Born in Chivhu as the third child in a family of seven, she had to learn responsibility early and look out for herself.
That trait, she reckons, contributed to her ability to navigate different spaces by constantly looking for the best ways to succeed and remain secure in every situation.
A seemingly ordinary childhood experience would later become a metaphor for her life.
At five, Takundwa watched her mother knit and wished she could do the same.
Armed with what she had learnt by observing her mother, she found some leftover wool and began recreating the movements she had seen during knitting.
“I saw that I could remember the actual movements and I learnt then how to knit all by myself at the age of five. It gave me such a feeling of confidence to say, ‘If I want I can and if I try I can,’” she said.
That early lesson in self-belief was reinforced by her enterprising mother, who took her to community fairs where entrepreneurs in Hatfield, Harare, sold various items and wares.
There, Takundwa received informal lessons in business and entrepreneurship long before she entered the corporate world.
After completing her primary and secondary education at Hatfield Primary School and Goromonzi High School respectively, she enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe.
She attained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees while concurrently pursuing a Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management with the Institute of Marketing Management in South Africa.
She later earned an Executive Certificate in Strategic Management from Sweden, a Diploma in Diplomacy and Protocol with the Zimbabwe Institute of Diplomacy and an Economic Empowerment Fellowship from the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Her rise within the ZNCC has followed a similarly steady trajectory.
Takundwa joined the Chamber as an ordinary member 10 years ago before being elected first vice-branch chairperson for Harare.
She rose to become chairperson of the Harare branch, from where she was elected vice-president of the Mashonaland Region.
Her progression continued when she was elected deputy president at national level in 2024.
Then came 2026, and with it the presidency.
Takundwa believes the experiences gathered along the way have prepared her for the responsibility of leading the Chamber, carving her own piece of history and inspiring other women to follow.
“So, my experiences in the Chamber over the past years, especially the manner in which I rose through the ranks, highly prepared me for this position,” she said.
But there was no easy walk to the top.
Her journey in the power sector brought her face to face with patriarchal attitudes that questioned what a woman could offer in a male-dominated field.
Some believed women could not be knowledgeable enough to discuss energy issues, let alone run a company.
Takundwa, however, was not afraid to speak confidently about currency and voltage or demonstrate her competence in the language of the energy sector.
Others judged her by her appearance — her medium-built stature and young age.
Yet, even when surrounded by men, she asserted herself as an equal.
Such attitudes, she believes, ultimately toughened her and helped her break through glass ceilings.
Along the way, she learnt to have confidence in herself, her proposals, products and solutions before expecting anyone else to believe in them.
While she is a firm supporter of women empowerment, Takundwa believes females must present themselves as equals to their male counterparts rather than expect preferential treatment.
“From that discounted position, you now have to prove yourself. You have to rise above that stereotyping,” she said.
Having been mentored by Dr Ndhlukula during her formative years, Takundwa has herself grown into a formidable figure in the business sector.
Like her predecessors, she is ready to tackle the responsibilities and priorities of the ZNCC with vigour.
Among those priorities is taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Zimbabwe is at a stage where we are done with negotiations and we are actually moving now to full organisation under AfCFTA.
“So as a priority, we now need to drive the private sector to take full advantage of opportunities under the AfCFTA. It’s a 1,4 billion population market, and this is regional,” she said.
As she takes the helm, Takundwa plans to steer the ZNCC towards advocating for policies that enable business growth and sustainability.
Through the ZNCC women’s desk, she also envisages greater participation by females in different leadership fora.
For her, however, the conversation cannot be complete without placing business in the context of artificial intelligence.
With the world changing rapidly and Africa often lagging in adapting to new technologies, Takundwa wants to promote the use of AI and digital platforms to increase productivity in industry and commerce.
“We also need businesses to also come forward and state contextual challenges they are facing.
“So that as we do policy advocacy, as we engage with the enablers, with the Government, then we are engaging on direct and real issues that are faced by business,” she said.
As this new chapter begins, Takundwa hopes to inspire, particularly, the younger generation of women to envision the possibilities that come with commitment and perseverance.
Her membership of the ZimTrade and National Building Society boards is testament to the depth of experience she has accumulated.
A former board member of Tennis Zimbabwe and the Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe, Takundwa’s list of accolades is equally impressive.
They include the Women’s Outstanding Achievements (2025) African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum Agri Entrepreneur Award, ZNCC Women in Enterprise Services Category Winner (2019) and the Megafest Business Awards Business Vanguard Silver Winner (2019).
In 2021, she was honoured as Entrepreneur of the Year by the African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards.
Her trophy cabinet also includes the MegaFest Top 20 Outstanding Woman in Business (2019), ZNCC Mashonaland Region Runner-Up Businesswoman (2018) and ZNCC Businesswoman of the Year, Mashonaland Region (2017).
With such a decorated career, Takundwa offers more than a success story.
She provides a template of what persistence, competence and self-belief can achieve — even when one begins as the lone skirt in a sea of suits.
