The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is pleased to announce Tshepiso Kobile and Refiner Anene as the winners of the 2026 Women in Green Building (WIGB) Competition.
WORDS & PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Now in its fifth year, the competition is designed to build technical capacity and elevate women working in the green building sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Under this year’s theme, ‘Your Perspective Matters’, the competition recognises the unique role women play in shaping a more inclusive and climate-responsive built environment, as well as the challenges they face.
The two winners were chosen from ten finalists based on examination results, after each finalist received EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) training, a globally recognised green building standard developed by IFC. The training provides participants with practical technical skills to apply green building principles and support more resource-efficient development.
Georgina Smit, GBCSA CEO, celebrating the achievement, says: “Developing green skills is increasingly about integrating sustainability into all the professions that shape our built environment – from property and investment to architecture and design, engineering and finance. The Women in Green Building Competition is valuable because it supports women to strengthen their existing expertise with this additional skill set. Our partnership with IFC allows us to create these opportunities while helping to embed green skills across the professions that will shape the future of the built environment.”
Kushinga Kambarami, Green & Resilient Built Environment Lead: Africa at the IFC, says: “The Women in Green Building Competition demonstrates the depth of talent, leadership, and innovation that women are bringing to Africa’s built environment. By recognising and supporting practical solutions with the potential to scale, the competition helps build a stronger pipeline of women leaders who can help to shape buildings and cities that are greener, more resilient, and more inclusive.”
GBCSA Academy’s Education Manager, Gretchen Williams, says she has noticed a shift in the profile of professionals entering the green building sector, and that this was evident in the entries this year: “We are seeing people across architecture, property, engineering and increasingly those working in property finance, management and investment, looking to upskill in sustainability. The Women in Green Building Competition and the EDGE training play an important part in the necessary integration of sustainability across the full built environment value chain.”
Sustainability across the built environment
Tshepiso Kobile is a South African investment and infrastructure professional specialising in property finance, sustainable infrastructure, ESG and affordable housing. A former CEO of SAVCA, she now serves as a Non-Executive Director of the National Housing Finance Corporation and Communicare NPC, where she contributes to ESG strategy and measurement in the affordable and social housing sector.
Refiner Anene is a property and infrastructure investment professional working at the intersection of green building, sustainable finance and affordable housing in Nigeria. She led a $12.5 million green housing transaction supporting more than 1,000 homes and up to 1,220 jobs, while embedding IFC EDGE certification, and has managed a $100 million-plus investment pipeline focused on scaling climate-responsive development.
“We congratulate our winners and look forward to their continued contribution to sustainability using their newly acquired skills. These two women are a clear example of the calibre of women that can emerge when those opportunities are made available.” Williams says.
The Women in Green Building programme supports women to drive sustainability across the built environment, and into the communities they serve. For more information, visit www.gbcsa.org.za and www.edgebuildings.com.
