In the male dominated world of
the fishing industry, Etosha Fishing stands out as a shining beacon of gender
inclusivity and women empowerment. Nearly half of the management team at the
company is female, while the majority of the workforce comprises women.
For billions of people worldwide
the ocean is a life-support system – providing food, jobs and resources.
Spanning economically important sectors, such as fisheries, maritime shipping,
deep-sea mining, renewable energy and tourism, the potential return on
investment in the blue economy is huge. As the buzz around the social and
economic benefits of ‘blue growth’ builds, calls for gender equality to be an
integral part of this economic opportunity are becoming louder.
This year World Ocean’s Day
celebrated on 8 June under the theme ‘Gender and the Ocean’ shone the spotlight
on women and their role in the ocean economy. The message was clear that working
in a predominantly male orientated ocean economy, women of the world have a lot
to contribute towards the future sustainability of the resource. Furthermore, Day
of the Seafarer marked on 25 June also highlighted the importance and value of
women within the professional ranks of the maritime world and is celebrated
under the banner ´I am on board with gender equality’.
“For the world to achieve
sustainability in the ocean, we must be gender inclusive in all blue economic
activities,” Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Hon Bernard Esau said
during the official event marking World Oceans Day celebrations in Walvis Bay.
He noted that women are already making huge contributions towards the health
and sustainability of our ocean and the role the resource plays in the national
economy.
“It was never a conscious
decision to exclusively employ women in leading positions at the company,”
Etosha Fishing Acting MD and former Financial Director Nezette Beukes says. She
considers the fact that most of the key managerial positions at Etosha Fishing are
occupied by women a clear illustration that females are just as capable as
their male counterparts.
Established in the 1940s,
Etosha Fishing Corporation is a leading player in the Namibian fishing industry
and considered to be one of the foremost round-can production facilities in southern
Africa.
Etosha Fishing operates in a
business environment where its largest customer is the market leader for canned
fish in Southern Africa. It has been canning Lucky Star pilchards since 1999
and recently also started canning pilchards for Glenryck SA. Furthermore, Etosha
Fishing pioneered local value addition of horse mackerel, becoming the first
company to successfully can Namibia’s most abundant fish under its own EFUTA
Maasbanker brand as early as 2013. Since then the company has grown the product
to a highly successful and sought-after brand, diversifying the EFUTA canned
horse mackerel product offering into a variety of flavours and last year also
added its own EFUTA Pilchard brand.
Over the years Etosha Fishing
has entrenched its position as an award-winning manufacturer that delivers
products of exceptional quality. Its products not only comply with national and
international food safety and quality regulations, but the company has also
been recognised for its high standards of food production through the Namibian
Standards Institution (NSI) Quality Awards. Since the inception of the awards
programme in 2012, Etosha Fishing has won consistently in the categories Quality
Product of the Year, Quality Company of the Year, Quality Exporter of the Year
and even went as far as winning the SADC Quality Company of the Year award in
2014/15.
Two of Etosha Fishing’s Quality
Managers, both females, have also received personal recognition for their
contribution towards quality assurance, with Estelle van Dyk and Linekela
Kapundja winning the NSI Individual Award for Quality in 2014 and 2017
respectively.
“To be recognised for our
consistent delivery of quality products in this very competitive business
environment is not a matter of how many males and females you have employed. We
all work together as a team. It should however serve as a motivation to women
hoping to enter this sector that they can also excel in a traditionally male
dominated world,” Beukes motivates.
A clear example is Etosha
Fishing’s Department Head of Labelling and Dispatch, Drizelle Westerdale. She
originally started at the company 15 years ago as the personal assistant to the
Managing Director and worked her way up to her current position where she runs
the labelling factory and serves as the final link in the quality value chain
of Etosha Fishing’s products. “It is all
about dedication and passion for the work you do,” Westerdale says. “If you
consistently perform well in your job, you will be recognised for your
efforts.”
“In order to be successful, we
rely on every one of our staff members,” Beukes reiterates. In order for the
organisation to achieve sustained success, critical quality aspects of the
manufacturing process are managed throughout the system, from the sea to the
final point of dispatch to the customer, providing the assurance that the
customer can consistently expect a product of excellent quality.
According to Quality Manager
Linekela Kapundja, employee engagement is an integral part of Etosha Fishing’s
quality management focus. “We engage our employees through training so that
they understand the importance of producing quality products in a safe work
environment.” She explains that employees go through quality induction training
and refresher training through-out the year which involves and array of topics,
including good manufacturing practices, HACCP principles, personal hygiene and
basic hygiene for food handlers, quality controllers training and good laboratory
practices.
Quizzed about the secret to her
success, Kapundja says: “It’s a matter of dedication, leading by example and
keeping the team motivated.” Passionate about her job, she always has been eager
to share her experience and skills with others. “We have to continue to empower
Namibians to be better qualified.”
Kapundja has more than 10 years’
experience in Quality Management and Food Safety in various local sectors. She
was previously employed at Namibia Diaries and the Coca Cola Bottling Company
where her management ability and mentorship has improved the lives and careers
of many young men and women within the food safety and quality industry. Her ambition
is to continue playing a big role in Supplier and Quality Assurance Management (SQAM)
and her future plans include a mentorship programme for SMEs involving the
implementation of quality and food management systems as a way of improving
efficiency and profit.
PHOTO CAPTION: On
board with gender equality – Three of Etosha Fishing’s top management
team are females. Photographed in front of Etosha Fishing’s RSW Vessel Iona is Acting
MD and former Financial Director Nezette Beukes (middle), with Quality Manager
Linekela Kapundja (left) and Department Head of Labelling and Dispatch Drizelle
Westerdale (right).
