Driven Small business owner Devaksha Maharaj, shares her story on how she was selected to join
the Energy Sector Gender Ministerial Advisory Council earlier this year as part of the Women
Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Strategy implementation plan.
About Devaksha Maharaj
Devaksha Maharaj is the owner of Ikigai Engineering, a multi-faceted consultancy dealing in energy
management advisory services including, measurement and verification as well as installation and
maintenance in the electrical and renewable energy sectors. Furthermore, they also offer training
and capacity building and have a national footprint with offices in KZN and the Free State.
Devaksha is a current beneficiary on the EneGro Programme 2021 at SAICA Enterprise Development
(SAICA ED) in partnership with Avon and Dedisa Peaking Power. The SAICA ED programme is
tailor-made to empower and equip SMME owners, like Devaksha, with financial and industry related
expertise. When asking Devaksha what she most enjoys about being part of the programme she
says, “I enjoy the technical mentoring sessions with my mentor from the CSIR. He has a range of
experience and together we have good interactions where we exchange ideas.”
“The energy sector in South Africa has a massive role to play not only in context of our countries
energy and economic sustainability, but also in context of equality – economic, ethnic and gender.
Women have so much to offer and when we partner with each other – male and female, and people
of all ethnicities. Our diversity of skills makes for a combination of unstoppable potential” , says
SAICA ED Customised Projects Manager, Darren Ryder.
Selected to join the prestigious Sector Gender Ministerial Advisory Council
Devaksha shared with us that “The Minister has recently approved the Women Empowerment and
Gender Equality (WEGE) Strategy implementation plan which will be established as an implemented
initiative by the Gender Ministerial Advisory Council for the Energy Sector.”
The Energy Sector Gender Ministerial Advisory Council’s purpose is to provide strategic and
technical support and advice the Minister and his Executive on the implementation of Energy Sector
WEGE Strategy. Being part of the Council board, Devaksha will be part of the team who will report
on national sectoral and implementation progress.
We asked Devaksha if woman empowerment has always been a passion project and she noted, “Yes
being part of a male-dominated sector since my tertiary education days it has become natural that
living for woman empowerment embodied my very being.” She also added that her passion to even
start her very own company and be her own boss was partially due to a gender-based victimisation
case at her previous employer. From strength-to-strength Devaksha used her grit and courageous
attitude to rise and transition into a new world as a SMME. “After my resignation I decided to open
up my consultancy as I knew that I had the skills and knowledge to take the same value-add that I
had in the corporate world to run my own company,” says Devaksha.
In a comment on being a women entrepreneur in the energy space she comments, “Women have to
put in a little more extra work to prove ourselves especially those who are black female and own
their own businesses. I am worthy of my skills and qualifications. We are not given the same
opportunities as men when it comes to finances, decision-making, research, policy and community
involvement. There’s always a situation of unconscious bias which we must be aware of and make
others aware of as well.”
In closing, SAICA Enterprise Development wishes to congratulate Devaksha on her journey as part of
the Advisory council and applaud her on her efforts to bring gender equality in the Energy Sector.
We also commend her commitment on the EneGro programme, taking her business to new heights.
A few concluding words and advice to fellow SMME’s in the sector would be, “to be confident and
committed in the decisions you make. Follow through with anything you embark on with integrity
and professionalism. Embrace the downfalls and forge ahead. Two steps everyday will lead to a path
of success.”
