Winning team celebrated at Ebikes4Africa

Mariselle Stofberg
Women make the magic happen

STAFF REPORTER

Ebikes4Africa dedicated the entire month of March to the women on their team who make the magic happen behind the scenes.

Ebikes4Africa started by celebrating their co-founder, Marita Walther, who quit her career in 2014 as a journalist and joined her partner to kick-start Ebikes4Africa. Through Ebikes4Africa she not only works to support rural communities, eco-tourism establishments and local entrepreneurs, pushing them to operate more sustainably, but also provides training in cycling, bicycle maintenance and e-bike mechanics. Marita also plays a key role in educating and raising awareness about sustainable mobility in Namibia and the rest of the world.

As managing director, Marita acts as the link to key partners and stakeholders and ensures the smooth operations of the company and external projects.

Winners

This month, Marita was selected for the Excellence in 2021 by the Bright Young Thinkers movement of FirstRand Namibia.

She was awarded for her work of empowering local communities through e-mobility and solar-powered services and she received a prize of N$25,000.

The prize means Marita and Ebikes4Africa will keep fighting the good fight by continuing to help develop local communities in a sustainable manner.

Ebikes4Africa also celebrated Gabriela !Kharibasen Okamaru, who is responsible for office administration. She joined the team at the start of 2020.

Ebikes4Africa is Gabriela’s first job and she says the journey so far has been amazing and educational.

“I am grateful for the opportunity and I believe that life is all about learning and experiencing,” she added.

Last but not least, Ebikes4Africa celebrated Tuisira Kavikairiua, who is the latest addition to the family. She joined the team as a marketing intern this year.

She said she is impressed at how fast and innovative e-bikes are and said working at Ebikes4Africa has been an extraordinary experience so far, especially because she was able to learn how to cycle bette on an e-bike.

“My favourite part of the job is having a very supportive team who has my back. In order to achieve anything not only does it require hard work required, but consistency is also needed,” concluded Tuisira.