WOMEN IN MINING BENEFICIARY WANT TO TACKLE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Bridget Seroka, a Middelburg-based businesswoman in the field of environmental consulting, is one of Seriti’s group of beneficiaries of the Women in Mining programme, launched in May 2022. This programme was designed and managed by Collective Value Creation (CVC) and runs until the end of 2023.
Ecological Fields Environmental Consultancy (Pty) Ltd was launched in April 2016 by Bridget and currently employs five people who provide technical environmental-related consulting services to the mining and public sector alike. These consulting services include aspects around Environmental Impact Assessments, Mining and Prospecting Right Applications, Environmental Compliance Monitoring and Auditing, Water, Soil and Air quality management and monitoring, Integrated Water Use Licenses (IWULA), Waste Management License and Application (NEMWA), and other environmental legislative requirements.
Having worked in both the mining and consulting spheres, Bridget realised that there was a niche that occurred between business entities, environmental compliance, social responsibility and the overall umbrella which is environmental legislation. She says she “aims to bridge the gap that exists between business corporations and environmental law.” Her challenges were, and to some extent still are, to gain access to the market, compete with established environmental companies, building and grow into an internationally recognised brand.
Her love for the environment started when she was one of five learners chosen to represent her high school in Environmental Projects and Presentations. This enabled her to meet and be mentored by officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). After school, she studied Environmental Science and Geology and then worked as an Environmental Assessment Practitioner, before she moved to Anglo-American as an Environmental Officer.
Also read: Women in Mining – Merlin Kalikhan participates in Seriti’s programme
With the Women in Mining programme, Bridget hopes to learn more about developing her business, thereby growing it through applying sound strategies. So far, she has benefitted much by learning about the different components needed to grow her business. Each business owner on the programme has access to specialists acting as mentors in various areas such as sales, marketing, finance and personal development to improve their business activities. Ninety per cent of these mentors and business specialists on the programme are also female.
Bridget’s big dream is to take her business to an international level and master the necessary skills needed, such as information technology, especially programming and artificial intelligence, which she believes can be used to provide solutions to environmental challenges, thereby contributing positively to humankind and the biosphere. Coupled with this dream, she emphasises the need for environmental education for the youth. It is her vision to educate and train the younger generation about their impact on the environment as they can still be influenced and make some positive difference.
Asked what advice she would give women who want to go into a similar business, she had the following to say: “A successful business starts with a healthy mind. Nurture your mind by reading, exercising positive thinking, obtaining mentors and building valuable business associations, networks, and relationships.”
In her free time, Bridget enjoys game nights with her family, reading, and travelling. She believes being exposed to new places creates the opportunity to get new business ideas. She also meditates and reads poetry to quiet her mind, an activity used to enhance and cultivate one’s inner creativity.
If she could go back to her eighteen-year-old self, she would tell her to “Continuously develop and invest in oneself and acquire skills that will solve international problems from an early age. Spirituality, health and a sound mindset are essential building blocks.”
