Tenele Habangaan is a young woman with interests in sustainable energy, power systems management, reliability, energy sector reform, regulation and compliance. She is enthusiastic about encouraging women and the youth to solve community problems through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), and to use STEAM for sustainable socio-economic development.

Tenele holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and is currently studying towards her Master of Science in Power Systems Management at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She works for the Eswatini Electricity Company as the System Operations Planning & Compliance Engineer. She is also chairperson of the Technical Committee (TC36) reviewing the electricity supply industry standards for Eswatini and sits on the Grid Code Review Panel in Eswatini.

She is a 2019 International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) Alumna – under the topic U.S. Energy Policy: Security, Independence, Innovation. She has also been a speaker and moderator at events promoting women’s critical role in STEM and in the economy, including at the 51^st Edition of the Eswatini International Trade Fair (2019), IEEE virtual events (2021, 2022), and WomEng Eswatini events.

Tenele has been a volunteer with IEEE, serving in the IEEE UCT Student Branch (as Liaison Officer and Vice-Chairperson for the EPICS-High program). Currently, she serves as the IEEE PES Women in Power Chapter Representative – Southern Africa, and as Country Representative for Eswatini. She is also a member of the IEEE Smart Village Africa Working Group.

Tenele strongly believes in the need for women and youth to actively participate in STEM, governance, and the economy, as there are universal benefits to communities with a diversified leadership. She has a growing passion for holistic health and wellness as a key element in activating people’s true potential and in developing sustainable solutions for all.