MAIN PHOTO: REFILOE MUKOKA AT THE OFFICE – GIRL POWER!
LEN KALANE
There is a particular kind of strength that gets forged not in comfort, but in the daily grind of showing up — for a career, for a family, for oneself. Refiloe Mukoka embodies that strength.
A commercial executive with more than two decades of experience across engineering, defence and infrastructure, a mother of three, and an emerging entrepreneur, Mukoka’s story is one this week’s PiE People Leadership feature is proud to bring to our readers as part of our ongoing series celebrating trailblazing women following the recent Women In Leadership event in Daveyton.
At senior executive level, Mukoka’s days are filled with commercial strategy, contract negotiation, risk and governance, and the kind of high-stakes decision-making that shapes business outcomes. She leads teams, sits in rooms where major commercial decisions are made, and works closely with clients, executives and stakeholders to deliver sustainable results. But ask her to define herself, and her job title is only the beginning.
A Journey Built on Perseverance
Mukoka is candid about the sacrifices behind her success. Raising three children while building an executive career has demanded everything she has to give — and one part of her journey has shaped her more than any other.
One of her children is physically disabled, an experience that has become a defining thread in how she moves through the world. “It has taught me about advocacy, patience, resilience and the importance of fighting for what matters,” she says of parenting through that reality.
For Mukoka, motherhood and career have never been separate tracks running in parallel — they are woven into the same story of showing up, even when circumstances are hard. As she puts it, “Sometimes you don’t get to choose the circumstances you face — but you do get to choose how you respond to them.” It is a philosophy she has chosen to live by, again and again.
CAPTION: REFILOE MUKOKA SPEAKING AT THE RECENT WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP EVENT IN DAVEYTON
Holding Ground in Rooms Built Without Her in Mind
Much of Mukoka’s career has unfolded in industries where women, particularly women in positions of influence, have historically been the exception rather than the norm. She doesn’t shy away from naming what that has cost her — being underestimated, undermined, and challenged simply for occupying space that men have traditionally held.
Yet rather than let those experiences diminish her, Mukoka describes them as a forge. “When people try to undermine you, you cannot allow them to take away the power you have worked so hard to build,” she says.
Her method for navigating conflict is refreshingly direct — no politics, no back-channel narratives, just confrontation handled with integrity. “I deal with people directly. I deal with situations directly. I don’t believe in gossiping or creating stories around people. If there is an issue, I would rather have the difficult conversation and address it head-on,” she explains.
That doesn’t mean every slight demands a fight. It means choosing her battles with intention. “I have learned to stand my ground. I have learned to speak up. And, most importantly, I have learned that somebody else’s attempt to diminish me does not determine my value,” she reflects. “I take my power back by refusing to give it away in the first place.”
CAPTION: REFILOE MUKOKA IN HER ACADEMIC ROBES
A Career Measured in Substance
Behind Mukoka’s confidence sits a body of work built through years of discipline. Her professional footprint spans executive oversight of commercial strategy, team leadership, and the strengthening of commercial governance in support of business growth and profitability. She has navigated high-value contracts, complex negotiations, claims, disputes, risk management and regulatory compliance, while building the kind of trusted relationships with clients and industry stakeholders that underpin long-term commercial success.
Her academic record reflects the same determination. Mukoka holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science, with a focus on Climate Leadership and Sustainability, and was recognised with an Academic Achievement Award for achieving the highest marks in her cohort. She is also a Certified Adjudicator in Construction Adjudication.
For Mukoka, these milestones carry meaning beyond the letters after her name. “They are evidence of what can happen when you refuse to give up on yourself,” she says.
CAPTION: REFILOE MUKOKA – ENTREPRENEUR, BODY AND SOUL
Building Something of Her Own
Alongside her executive role, Mukoka is now stepping into entrepreneurship — an identity she wears with visible excitement. She is currently exploring ventures spanning network marketing, a bed-and-breakfast, meat sales and a cleaning business.
“Entrepreneurship excites me because it gives me the opportunity to create something of my own, learn from different markets and build opportunities that can potentially create value for other people as well,” she says. It’s a natural extension of everything her corporate career has taught her, paired with something new. “My corporate experience has given me the commercial discipline to understand business, while my entrepreneurial journey is teaching me something equally important — the courage to start, experiment, learn and sometimes start again.”
CAPTION: REFILOE MUKOKA – JUST CHILLING
Opening Doors for Other Women
If there is a thread that ties every part of Mukoka’s story together, it is her commitment to other women — not in the abstract, but in practice. To her, solidarity means action. “Supporting women is not just about saying, ‘Well done.’ It is about opening a door. Making an introduction. Sharing knowledge. Recommending another woman’s business. Giving someone a seat at the table,” she says.
She wants to see more women negotiating at the table, leading businesses, sitting in boardrooms and shaping the industries and communities around them — particularly in the male-dominated spaces she knows intimately. And she is honest about what resilience actually looks like day to day. “Resilience does not mean pretending everything is easy,” she says. “Sometimes resilience is simply waking up the next morning, putting your shoulders back, remembering who you are, and continuing.”
Her Message to Other Women
Mukoka’s advice to women navigating their own version of her journey is unambiguous: “Do not allow anyone to take away the power you have worked so hard to build. Know who you are. Know what you bring to the table. Do your homework. Build your credibility. Speak up. Deal with difficult situations directly. Don’t allow gossip or negativity to consume you.”
She is equally clear that rising doesn’t require tearing others down. “You don’t have to destroy someone else to rise. You don’t have to gossip about someone to prove that they are wrong. You don’t have to become someone you’re not to succeed,” she says. “Stand in your truth. Do the work. Keep your integrity. And let your results speak.”
Mukoka is quick to note that her story is far from finished. “I am still growing. I am still learning. I am still building,” she says. “But I am proud of the woman I have become — a woman who has navigated corporate challenges, raised three children, faced difficult circumstances, continued to build her career and is now embracing entrepreneurship and creating space for other women.”
And perhaps that is the real measure of her leadership — not just what she has built for herself, but what she hopes it makes possible for others. As she puts it: “When I take my power back, I don’t just change my own story. I create space for another woman to change hers.”
This PiE feature is part of our People Leadership series, profiling trailblazing women following the Women In Leadership event in Daveyton.
