As one of Africa’s first beneficiaries of Babcock’s Mentor Match programme, Nokwanda Makanda, Quantity Surveyor at the Engineering business, has hailed the programme as a critical, transformative force for advancing career opportunities for women and fostering personal development.
As part of a broader strategy to create opportunities for women to fulfil their potential, Babcock rolled out its Mentor Match programme in 2025. Mentor Match is a digitally-enabled platform that connects a mentee with an experienced mentor, based on specific career goals, challenges and skill requirements. The digital, tailored approach eliminates the high-cost resource burden often associated with mentoring programmes in the workplace.
Mentor Match forms part of Babcock’s Illuminate programme, the company’s Global Women’s Scheme focused on developing and advancing female talent. The initiative supports Babcock’s broader diversity ambition of achieving 30% female representation across the workforce by 2030.
Space for growth
Nokwanda, a member of the inaugural cohort, commends Babcock for the empowering programme: “Mentor Match provided a structured, safe space for growth that is often missing in day-to-day work environments. Through this programme, conversations about work-life balance were legitimised rather than sidelined,” says Nokwanda.
For many professionals, she adds, especially women in leadership or aspiring leadership roles, navigating competing demands at work and home can be complex and emotionally challenging. “Mentorship enables honest dialogue, practical strategies and reassurance that these challenges are shared, not personal shortcomings,” says Nokwanda.
Key lessons
For Nokwanda, one of the key takeaways from the programme was the importance of intentional balance rather than perfect balance. “My mentor emphasised that work-life balance is not about giving equal time to everything, but making conscious choices based on priorities in different seasons of life,” she says.
This perspective helped Nokwanda let go of unnecessary guilt and focus instead on sustainability and long-term effectiveness. She also learnt the value of setting and communicating boundaries clearly.
“My mentor demonstrated that strong leaders do not overextend themselves to prove commitment. Instead, they model healthy boundaries, manage expectations proactively, and protect their time so they can deliver quality outcomes. This reinforced that boundaries are not a weakness but a leadership strength,” adds Nokwanda.
Biggest impact
Commenting on some of the activities that had the biggest impact on her during the programme, Nokwanda says the peer working group - known as “Success Squad” - positively influenced her confidence, resilience and approach to leadership and life. The moments of reflection with the team increased her confidence and helped her become more intentional in how she leads and communicates.
“From the Mentor Match programme, I have learned when to engage with conflict and when to absorb it. Some matters require firm advocacy, while others are better managed pragmatically and moved past,” she says. “As an introvert, my confidence and communication abilities have improved significantly. I used to have trouble speaking or presenting in front of large groups of people, but I can now do it with ease.”
Importance of mentorship programmes
Nokwanda commends Babcock for developing a women-focused mentorship programme that she believes will play a meaningful role in advancing equity and representation. Programmes such as Mentor Match help address systemic barriers by ensuring that women have access to guidance, sponsorship and networks that have historically been less accessible,” she says.
The programme, she adds, intentionally focuses on balance, innovation and collaboration, which are especially impactful, as they develop leaders who are not only competent but also thoughtful, adaptive and human-centred.
“Mentor Match also supports sustainable leadership, employee engagement and organisational performance. It connects individuals across levels, disciplines and experiences, breaking down silos and promoting knowledge-sharing. This cross-pollination of ideas fuels innovation and helps teams respond more effectively to change,” concludes Nokwanda.
