Botswana: Sithabile Mathe

Sithabile Mathe is the founder and managing director at Moralo Designs, a multidisciplinary architectural firm in Gaborone, Botswana (2006–). She studied architecture at the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked internationally in South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Norway. Mathe served as Chairperson of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) Validation (2016–2022), Chairperson of the Botswana Housing Corporation (2019–2021), Chairperson of the Architects Registration Council of Botswana (2018–2021), Treasurer of the Architects Association of Botwana (2016–2021), and a Council Member as Vice President for the Africa Region of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (c. 2013–2016).

Mathe was a panelist for the 2025 Africa Green Building Summit  in Gaborone, Botswana, and the 2014 Design Africa Symposium organized by World Design Capital in Cape Town, South Africa. She was also a presenter at the Facilities Management Conference and Exhibition (2022 and 2019), the CAA Women Lecture Series (2022), the Interactive Festival for Women in Tech, Business, and Beyond (2019), and Women in the Built Environment (2019). Mathe served as a program mentor for the Women in Africa Business Mentoring by Deloitte (2022) and was a facilitator for the Tourism Business Coaching and Mentorship Program (2022), and the Commonwealth Association of Architects Online CPD Seminars (2020). She also served as a jury member for the Sol Plaatje University Architectural Competition for New University Campus in Kimberley, South Africa (2021), the Architects Association of Kenya Design Competition (2020), and the Department of Higher Education and Training Architectural Competition for Two New Universities in Kimberley and Mpumalanga, South Africa (2013). Sithabile Mathe was named a finalist for “Woman of the Year” at the 2023 Southern Africa Construction Impact Awards, and she has been featured in numerous books, including 100 Women: Architects in Practice (2023), Architectural Guide Sub-Saharan Africa (2021), and Traditional Tswana Housing: A Study in Four Villages in Eastern Botswana (2002).