Organised and ambitious – Ntlotleng Kobue

Bianca Bothma

Marketing Assistant Ntlotleng Kobue is one of the more recent additions to the Maropeng team, but in just over six months she has already become a vital part of the staff complement.
Ntlotleng studied communications and marketing at the University of Pretoria and was busy completing an internship at the Presidency when she read about the opening at Maropeng.

“I went onto the Maropeng website and read the profile of General Manager Erica Jago. After reading about all Erica’s experience and how she was headhunted for the position, I thought, ’Wow, I could really learn a lot from her,’ and so I applied for the job,” says Ntotleng.

Her job involves answering enquiries from guests and visitors, brainstorming with the events team about upcoming specials, and putting together and reviewing outgoing marketing material and artwork.

She says that she finds working at Maropeng very rewarding: “I’m fairly ambitious and I really enjoy my job. I’m given a chance to be my own person, try things my way, but when there are challenging situations I am questioned and there is a discussion so I learn more.”

She finds going through the marketing material and artwork with Erica Jago a valuable learning experience: “It gives me a sense of what the marketing strategy is going forward, as I get input from Erica in terms why we are doing things the way we are and why this is the best way to do it.”

Erica describes Ntlotleng as someone who works incredibly hard: “She’s a blessing. Ntlotleng is very organised, has great ideas and always smiles.”

Marketing Maropeng as a tourist attraction is challenging but Ntlotleng says the people she works with make all the difference: “We are like a family and interact on a more personal level, which makes it easier to learn from others.”

Sazi Radebe, events executive at Maropeng, says that Ntlotleng is a great person: “She’s very open and approachable. As she is very serious about her work she learns things very quickly.”

Ntlotleng feels passionately about the special role Maropeng plays in South Africa and how visiting this attraction contributes towards nation building: “I want to get people thinking about their identity in terms of not always focusing on race but rather on how we evolved as humans and how we can move forward as humankind.”

When not at work, Ntlotleng enjoys watching movies and loves to travel. She says that working at Maropeng has also opened her eyes to more of what’s out there to be discovered.