Refilwe Ledwaba

Refilwe Ledwaba (born 1980) is South Africa's first female, black helicopter pilot.

Early life Ledwaba grew up in a single-parent household in Lenyenye, Limpopo and is one of seven children. Her mother worked as a teacher while bringing her children up by herself. Her sisters all went to university. However, whilst at university she flew for the first time, and decided to pursue a career in aviation. She received her pilot's wings on 11 January 2006, aged 26. During her time in SAPS she flew over 2500 hours, recovered dead bodies from remote places and undertook solo reconnaissance missions. She is a qualified fixed wing instructor.

Ledwaba founded the non-profit organisation Girl Fly Africa in Programme to encourage young women into STEM careers, whatever their background. It organises lessons and training camps for young women in Botswana, Cameroon and South Africa. As of 2019, over 100,000 young women had participated in GFAP. She credits her upbringing, led by strong women in apartheid South Africa, as inspiration for her success. In the same year she joined the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' TechWomen programme as a mentee. She also became an Obama Foundation Fellow in 2019. Ledwaba is a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeeper, a role she uses to advocate for women's rights in Africa.

Awards 2012 - South African Youth Award (Entrepreneur)

2012 - CEO Communication's Most Influential Women in Business and Government (Aviation)

2014 - Young People in International Affairs [YPIA] (Top 35 Africans Under 35)

2015 - CEO Communication's Most Influential Women in Business and Government (Aviation)