An Amazing Journey
With a vision to "boldly go where no women have gone before", Adv Pria Hassan established the Women of Africa (WOA) Investment Group in 2005 to enter traditionally maledominated industry sectors and create the first women's empowerment group in KwaZulu-Natal. The group enjoyed sustainable growth, diversifying into logistics, pharmaceuticals, engineering, project management and mining sectors. In 2007 Pria established WOA Fuels and Oils to expand the group's existing portfolio into the fuels, lubricants, minerals and energy sectors.
Specialising in the supply and delivery of petroleum and petroleum related products nationally and internationally, products are sourced from mainstream suppliers within South Africa. WOA has been able to negotiate competitive rebates which are passed on to clients in the transport, logistic and motor vehicle dealership sectors.
Pria describes major challenges as adapting her skills from a logistical legal background to familiarising herself with methods of calculating fuel pricing and understanding the dynamics of the energy sector. She pays tribute to mentors who guided her and shared their expertise generously, enabling her to secure government and SOE contracts. The group has weathered the current economically unstable period and grown to a formidable force in the industry.
Q & A
How has your life experience made you into the success you are today?
All work and no play for many years and the ability to be fearless is what have contributed to the success of this business. Of course a leader is only as good as her team players and I am fortunate to have been blessed with a dedicated loyal support team. Keeping your integrity intact irrespective of the temptations that may arise to grow at a rapid rate has been core to our business value system.
What have the highlights been in establishing your company?
The journey has been an amazing one filled with lessons of empowering not just myself but other women in this sector. I have found the need to go back and start the process of educating myself both in business and in leadership.
My highs includes my rural young women development programme, which sees 350 grade 12 learners participate in a work shop that aims to transform their lives every year.
Another high was being awarded business in areas that have largely precluded women; this gives you the confidence to grow your business further. A further high has been manufacturing our very own brand of lubricants and distributing this all over Africa.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
Ensuring that balance between work and life is imperative to running a successful organisation however the lows are unavoidable .It has been overwhelming at times to balance my very public and private life and often the sacrifices that has been made specifically with regards to my children has given me sleepless nights. It is a constant battle to also ensure that I find time to see to my spiritual wellbeing and peace. Praying remains an important part of my life and not being able to go to my house of prayer at times as a result of work commitments has been depressing. Actively setting aside time for my family and my spiritual wellbeing is the only way to maintain a balance.
What are your hopes for the future for yourself and your company?
I intend to target supply to blue chip companies and to also get them to make organisations such as Women in Energy South Africa the recipient of their Enterprise Development initiatives. This is desperately needed to continue the drive to educate and empower women in this business. Skills transfer in this industry is also a critical success factor and we will ensure that this happens at all levels in our very own organisation. I want to develop an Employee Share Option Participation scheme which is not linked to their years of service but rather their percentage contribution to profits.
