For Thandi Sithole, building a career in South Africa’s logistics industry has been about more than moving goods from one place to another. As Managing Director of MJ World, she has found herself at the centre of a network of people, businesses and opportunities, while navigating her own path as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Logistics is often described in terms of trucks, drivers, deliveries and kilometres travelled, but behind every successful journey is a network of people making sure that everything comes together. For businesses operating in this space, a delayed driver, a vehicle that needs assistance, a shortage of fuel or even a problem with accommodation can quickly become much bigger than a single inconvenience.
It is in this space that Thandi Sithole, Managing Director of MJ World, has built her career and continues to play a role in shaping the direction of the company.
Sithole’s story offers a look at what it means to be a woman working in an industry that has traditionally been dominated by men, while also providing an insight into how MJ World has developed since its establishment.
MJ World was established around 2018 after its CEO, Sifiso Mndzebele, identified a gap in the logistics sector. The idea was not necessarily to create another company offering one particular logistics service, but rather to bring together people and businesses that already had something to offer but were not always connected to the right opportunities.
Sithole explains that the concept was built around a relatively simple observation. A company could be looking for drivers while qualified drivers were looking for work. A fleet operator could require fuel, towing, compliance assistance or other support, while businesses capable of providing those services were already operating elsewhere in the market.
“The capabilities often already exist, but the right people don’t always know where to find each other,” she says.
That approach has helped shape MJ World into a business that operates across a number of areas within the logistics environment, including its driver and talent network, accommodation solutions, compliance and safety support, and other services required by companies operating in the sector.
However, according to Sithole, the business did not arrive at its current position simply by following the plan it had when it started. Much of its development came through listening to the companies it worked with and understanding the challenges they were facing on the ground.
“When we started, we had a very specific idea of what we wanted to do,” she says. “But our clients have really broadened us and made us what we are today.”
Those conversations exposed the company to challenges it had not initially considered and opened the door to areas such as driver training, driver awareness, fuel, tyres and other forms of operational support.
For Sithole, this has been one of the most important lessons of the company’s journey. In an industry where business is often measured by contracts, costs and the movement of goods, she believes that the strength of the relationship between businesses can be just as important.
“The most important thing our clients taught us is that relationships are way more important than the transaction,” she says.
That philosophy is particularly relevant to Sithole’s role as Managing Director. Her responsibilities include engaging with clients, identifying opportunities, assessing potential partnerships and considering whether a particular business relationship is suitable for MJ World.
It is not simply a matter of asking whether there is money to be made from a particular opportunity. The companies that MJ World works with become part of the company’s wider reputation, making trust and credibility important considerations when entering into new relationships.
“The company that we work with eventually will reflect on MJ World,” Sithole says.
It is an approach that also reflects the realities of doing business in South Africa’s logistics sector, where companies continue to face a range of challenges, from infrastructure constraints and operating costs to skills shortages and the pressures that come with keeping vehicles, drivers and cargo moving.
Sithole, however, does not believe that challenges should necessarily be viewed as obstacles that prevent businesses from growing. Instead, she sees them as opportunities for companies to learn, adapt and find new ways of doing things.
“Everything that is a challenge in the logistics ecosystem, we find every challenge as an opportunity to grow and learn,” she says.
For a company that is still relatively young, that ability to listen and adapt has become an important part of its development. Rather than trying to predict every challenge the industry may face, MJ World has sought to remain close to its clients and respond to the needs emerging within the market.
That same willingness to adapt is evident in Sithole’s own approach to leadership.
Women continue to be underrepresented in many parts of the transport and logistics sector, particularly in senior positions. Yet Sithole says her position as a woman in leadership has not required her to approach her work differently or to compromise on who she is.
Instead, she believes that having more women involved in decision-making can strengthen the industry by bringing different experiences and perspectives to the table.
“It has not changed how I do my work,” she says. “Instead, it’s improving it.”
Her experience has also shown her that representation matters. Seeing women in leadership positions can make a difference to how other women view their own opportunities, particularly in industries where they may not always see people who look like them occupying senior roles.
For Sithole, the message is straightforward: women should not assume that certain industries or positions are not meant for them.
“There is space for us. There are seats for us.”
Her message is particularly relevant in an industry where women continue to build careers, businesses and leadership roles.
The conversation around women in the workplace also provides an opportunity to look at the progress that still needs to be made and the opportunities available to women across different sectors of the economy.
In logistics, those opportunities extend well beyond driving trucks or working on the operational side of transport. The industry needs people in management, technology, finance, compliance, safety, human resources, business development and many other areas that keep the sector functioning.
Sithole’s own position at MJ World is an example of that changing landscape.
Much of the work that takes place within logistics happens away from the public eye. Consumers may see a truck arriving at a warehouse or goods reaching a shop, but they rarely see the conversations, planning, recruitment, compliance checks, support services and relationships that make that movement possible.
For Sithole, that hidden network is where MJ World’s role becomes important.
The company’s ambition is to continue building connections between businesses, drivers, service providers and opportunities. It is an approach reflected in the company’s motto, “One call, endless connections.”
The idea is that a single request does not necessarily end with a single service. A company looking for a driver, for example, may also require training, compliance assistance, accommodation, fuel or other support. By connecting those needs to the right people and businesses, MJ World aims to become more than just another service provider in the logistics chain.
“We are building it deliberately,” Sithole says.
There is still work to be done, and Sithole acknowledges that MJ World does not have every answer. But the company is focused on growing its network, strengthening its relationships and responding to the needs of the industry as those needs change.
That focus on relationships may ultimately prove to be one of its biggest strengths.
For Sithole, the journey is not only about building a successful company. It is also about creating opportunities for people and demonstrating that there is a place for women in the boardrooms and leadership positions of industries that have traditionally been seen as the domain of men.
Her message therefore extends beyond MJ World.
South Africa needs an economy in which women are not simply participants, but decision-makers, business owners, managers and leaders helping to determine the direction of industries that are vital to the country’s future.
And in an industry whose purpose is to keep people, goods and businesses moving, Sithole believes women have an important role to play in deciding where that movement goes next.
