24-year-old Zambian born – Commercial Pilot, Besa Mumba, is leading the front in her career as the youngest female professional.

At age 18, she became the youngest Commercial Pilot in Zambia after obtaining her commercial pilot licence from the South African Flight Training Academy. 

Mumba was born on 9 December 1996 in Lusaka. She began school in 1999 at Sunshine Primary School, then went to St Mary’s Secondary School where she was head girl for the 2011 to 2012 school year before heading for flight training in South Africa.

Shortly after receiving grade 12 results in March 2013, she was accepted to attend the South African Flight Training Academy in Heidelberg, Gauteng.

There she started her Private Pilot Licence course in April 2013 and began flying the same month.

The flight training course lasted two years.Through the first quarter of 2015 she did final training towards obtaining a Commercial Pilots Licence, which she earned in July of that year at the age of 18.

She went on to acquire her Advanced Training at SIMU Flight in Pretoria, South Africa. 

Besa Mumba then joined Proflight Zambia, in 2016, as a First Officer.