Imizizi evolution 1956 Magazine

1956 Mponeng Seshea

Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo: You strike a woman you strike a rock" Those were the words that echoed in the Union Buildings situated in Pretoria. The Year: 1956. The Reason: Protesting against legislation that, was aimed at tightening the apartheid system's control over the movement of black women in urban areas. The culprits: Thousands of South Africa women – ranging from all backgrounds and cultures including Indians, Coloureds, Whites, and Blacks. A snippet of their petition: “We, the women of South Africa, have come here today. We represent and we speak on behalf of hundreds of thousands of women who could not be with us. But all over the country, at this moment, women are watching and thinking of us. Their hearts are with us. We are women from every part of South Africa. We are women of every race, we come from the cities and the towns, from the reserves and the villages. We come as women united in our purpose to save the African women from the degradation of passes.”

This moment in history stands as a testament and an example of unity through shared values and a targeted vision. The celebration of woman’s day in South Africa is always a bittersweet day. The appreciation of the noteworthy movement by the women of 1956 and baton they left for women who came after them; against the realisation that we’ve barely made a dent in empowering women to take up sufficient space in society and areas of influence. The struggle for women’s voices to be heard is still a daily reality. Different forms of restrictions have been put in place under the guise of being accommodated. In business, it would be termed “female friendly industries and work.” 66 years later, there is still a great divide, and gender in-equality still rates highest. The discrepancy between genders has remained consistent in the past 6 years. In business, males have more opportunities and we have seen a trend where male owned and operated organisations are funded more than their female counterparts; despite the data continuously showing us that female owned business tend to grow and support more people, therefore positively impacting surrounding communities. This has made me sit and contemplate what we can do to turn the situation around. The women of 1956 played a very vital role in women becoming more visible participants in the anti–apartheid struggle, how do ensure that we also leave a noteworthy baton for the generation of women who will follow? For me, the biggest lesson I learnt from those women is their ability to stand firm in their purpose and take on matters as women.

Their bold declaration “You strike a woman you strike a rock” has always made me think of the grounded-ness of the rock, its sureness, unassuming, malleable but dangerous if mishandled. A quiet power. The second, learning that our compassion is our strength. Consider how the pass law was specific to a certain group of people, yet all women from different background came to protest against the law. We have become so cautious of being too feminine, as if it's a sin. And lastly, impactful “The struggle for women’s change requires support and backup. voices to be heard is still As women in this day and age, a daily reality. Different instead of standing in our different corners with our individual forms of restrictions have pluck cards, we stand a better been put in place under chance of getting things done and the guise of being changed when we work together.

We need to stop looking at our accommodated.” differences and start supporting each other as women.

As we embark on the journey of advocating for inclusivity across different identity spectrums, we draw strength from women past who led by example. “One of our strongest assets as women is our sense of community and network. In the same way we nurture our children and families, we can encourage and help each other, thereby igniting change” – Susan Michel.

Contents Women in Business Empowering Women, One Small Business At A Time

7 10

Arbitrage! THE GOLDEN DAYS

14

My story of Design

16

SMEs can be the backbone of the SA

18

Economy Importance of venture capitalists financing

22

for small businesses Opinion Piece: Addressing the entrepreneurial funding knowledge gap

25

with the launch of a comprehensive funding handbook women magnify results

29

3,500 Women Entrepreneurs to Benefit from

35

App-Based and Online Training Last Word

38

Designed by Gareth Davids and OB Khensani

Women in Business Yandiswa Xhakaza

Women are making key decisions in their various spheres of influence; shaping businesses that make money whilst taking care of their employees This is not because I don’t understand the history and the communities. The value that of women in a patriarchal society, it is perhaps women bring to any society can be because I thought we would be in a far better traced back to the family unit at a place in 2022. If we just pick on the 20 000 odd micro-level. We see women pulling women who marched to the Union Buildings in together resources and allocating Pretoria to petition against the country's pass them strategically in ways that will laws that required South Africans defined as serve the family long-term. We see "black" to carry an internal passport, known as a women anticipating changes and passbook. The passbooks served to maintain putting plans in place to population segregation, control circumvent the urbanisation, and manage “their recollection of projected risks. migrant labour during We see women the apartheid era. These suppression is very nurture every women organised themselves different from what individual to stand against the oppression of the the 1960s generation member of Black people. The rise of the family to women liberation movement saw” ensure each took shape in the 1960s and person is here we are 60+ years later still grappling with is well taken care of, that their what it means to be women in society, in the needs are met, and their skills and workplace and in business. talents are well utilised for their We must acknowledge that we have made some individual benefit and the benefit strides as a society and that women can no of the family. We see women longer be ignored, nor can they be relegated to carefully set aside money for rainy the periphery or unimportant, so-called soft days. We see women build rapport matters on the fringes. Women are in the centre and establish long standing of business, projecting future scenarios of where relationships with new people the world is going and which industries are likely they seek to work with. to do well in which markets. Women are structuring deals, innovating and streamlining their internal processes and systems to drive efficiencies and improve competitiveness.

There is a discomfort that creeps in every time I have to spell out or single out gender specifications related to business.

These are all the skills that most women inherently bring to the table, these skills are often built-in and women use them across the different aspects of their lives, including business for those in business. It would be short sighted of us as a society to continuously exclude women from business opportunities when they bring such unique and sometimes complimentary skills to men.

Women of this generation have not endured much of the 60s struggles and their recollection of suppression is very different from what the 1960s generation saw and experienced. It is exactly this reason that this generation who carry a far less historical burden in their lived experience are far better able to navigate their gifts and skills in the context of business and in partnership with men. Both women and men bring incredible value to society and the idea is not to put the one above the other but to rather leverage each other’s competencies for better businesses and for a better society without one being a threat to the other.

This article was a reminder that most women have been leading their lives using the principles seen in successfully running and growing a business, i.e. guidance & mentorship, leadership, empathy, vision-focused and oriented, process efficiency, effective people management, conflict resolution, risk mitigation, relationship management -and this all from just running a household. Imagine the value to be unlocked for the world when women are given REAL opportunities in business.

I enjoyed Yandiswa’s article especially the analogy she used to explain the character women bring to the world of business, by referring to a family setup vs the business setup. She rightly points out that the point is not to put one gender above the other as both men and women bring incredible value to society and businesses.

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Empowering Women, One Small Business At A Time Sibo Kaluw

The phoenix is a mythical immortal creature that lived for 500 years before it built its own funeral pyre, burst into flames and died, consumed by its own fire.

Soon after, it rose from the ashes, in a transformation from death to life. For rebirth to be possible, death must come first. The rising from the ashes is a story of transformation and overcoming adversity.

That phoenix must have been a woman because in many ways, the story of the empowerment of women has to follow a similar path.

There is new life that has to emerge for the each and every woman in our society if she is to step into her power.

Empowerment or Equality?

Women empowerment is defined as promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others. It seems strange that in the early part of the 21st century, a period that we always saw as the future, this is still a thing. Almost 200 years after the Suffrage Movement was started, the battle continues to rage.

“We hold these truths to be selfevident,” proclaimed the Declaration of Sentiments from the establishment of the Suffrage movement, “that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

For many women living in Africa, the equality debate is complex and cannot be divorced from their empowerment. Culturally and socially, the balance of equality can be viewed from many lenses. Many people ascribe to the view that even when burdened, women are happy with the status quo, if lucky enough to escape an abusive male partner.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” There is a prevailing view that men have a role, women have theirs and tampering with decades long cultural structures will bring imbalance to our society. Let us take a brief look at this role according to a UN report on the “Overall Status of Women in Africa”:

Economic Opportunities Small Business to the rescue

“African women are guardians of their children's welfare and have explicit responsibility to provide for them materially. They are the household managers, providing food, nutrition, water, health, education, and family planning to an extent greater than elsewhere in the developing world. Most African women, in common with women all over the world, face a variety of legal, economic and social constraints.

Indeed, some laws still treat them as minors. In Zaire, for instance, a woman must have her husband's consent to open a bank account. Women are known to grow 80 per cent of food produced in Africa, and yet few are allowed to own the land they work.”

Do we dare take another view?

Which woman has not been subject to the pressures of society to conform to the ideal wife, mother, daughter which exalts subservience to the male figure. In some cases to the point of kneeling and bowing your head. Patriarchy is the norm in many African societies and women are barely above the status of children.

It is easy to get on a soapbox and complain about the injustice of the situation. It is so tempting to rant about the unfairness of it all. And it is so easy to blame men. For today, the question has to be asked differently. How do we bring balance to our world so all women can have the power to choose their lives? The answer may lie in economic empowerment.

To be clear, women are not victims.

“Which woman has not been subject to the pressures of society to conform to the ideal wife, mother, daughter” Two centuries of male domination have created a chameleon-like existence where women find ways to get what they want. Yet, to have true power, is to have means. There is no empowerment in dependency.

Lurking in the shadows, is the parallel story of poverty and inequality. Any conversation about women empowerment cannot be had without addressing the economic gaps in our continent.

One possible solution is to provide opportunities to financial independence through jobs and small enterprise.

Studies have shown that small businesses have helped to improve the standard of living for many, making important impacts on livelihood. Even in developed countries, small business contributes more to economic growth. Jeffrey Sachs in his classic book “The End of Poverty” shares insights about young women in the garment industry in Bangladesh.”

Nearly all the women interviewed had grown up in the countryside, extraordinarily poor, illiterate and unschooled and vulnerable to chronic hunger and hardship in a domineering, patriarchal society. Had they (and their forebearers of the 1970s and 1980s) stayed in the villages, they would have been forced into a marriage arranged by their fathers, and by seventeen or eighteen, forced to conceive a child.

The trek to the cities to take jobs has given these young women a chance of personal liberation of unprecedented dimension and opportunities.

The Bangladeshi women told how they were able to save some small surplus from their meagre pay, manage their own income, have their own rooms, choose when and whom to date and marry, choose to bear children when they felt ready, and use those savings to improve their living conditions and especially, to go back to school to enhance their literacy and job market skills. As hard as it is, this life is a step on the way to economic opportunity that was unimaginable in the countryside in generations past”.

This story demonstrates that it is possible to change society through enterprise. Every small business carries that responsibility whether they acknowledge it or not. Indeed, by taking up employment or even by setting up a small business, women can be empowered

Despite the promise of small business, we cannot be naïve about the solution. There is more to empowerment than a purse full of money. But it is a start. Power will not be handed to women on a platter.

It will have to be taken. If we can have the courage to believe in something greater than ourselves. If we can see the possibilities and commit to helping change the situation as well as the lives of others, we can go a long way towards empowering women and changing our society for the better.

“There were two classes of charitable people: one the people who give a little and make a great deal of noise; the other, the people who did a great deal and made no noise at all.” −

Charles Dickens

Sibo Kaluw is an entrepreneur and digital strategy and transformation specialist. In addition to being passionate about alleviating poverty in Africa, she believes in the power of technology to leapfrog our continent and bring about social change. Sibo is a Director in Africans Changing Africa (ACA), a consulting business that seeks to bring about change through technology in Africa. She has two business partners in ACA based in Zimbabwe and Zambia. She owns Urban Zulu Hair, a niche hair salon specialising in afro natural hair in Sandton, Johannesburg. Together with her husband, they also manage a property business. She is a board member in Jabulile School, a not for profit private school based in Eswatini. Originally from Eswatini, she has lived in Cape Town, Brighton, London and now Johannesburg. A curious participant of life, she has travelled widely but Africa remains her favourite destination. She has two children, is a strong Christian, loves hiking and cannot breathe without books! Follow her on Instagram: @sibo.kaluw

“We should all be feminists” is what echoed as a I read this article. Phrases like “women are not victims” or “there is no empowerment in dependency” ingrained further that the empowerment and upliftment of women is not a ‘nice to have favour’, it is a RIGHT they need to be reminded of.

Wow, I have never taken time to really read up about the phoenix nor given much thought about the phoenix’s rebirth, until I read Sibo’s article. What a powerful introduction and a story I believe most women can relate to, the power of rebirth.

The insights shared from the UN report are enlightening, “most African women, in common with women all over the world, face a variety of legal, economic and social constraints.” This report shows that we still have a lot to do when it comes to empowering women and not only ending it there but going the extra mile in ensuring that the constraints and barriers that women face are alleviated, especially when it comes to funding for women owned businesses

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Arbitrage! THE GOLDEN DAYS Khensani Mabunda

Arbitrage is a component of my investment strategy. Every individual/business, especially the youth, should use it, in my opinion.

If done correctly, you should obtain returns that are higher than those of a retail bond savings account. At best, you will outperform the average index returns/EFTs.

R1,00 PTA

Arbitrage is rather easy to do nowadays. You can do it from the comfort of your home at an instant push of a button.

The concept of arbitrage is fairly understandable. It is all about capitalizing on market price discrepancies. You acquire oranges of the same worth at a lower price and sell them at a higher price at another market.

As a result, you benefit by taking advantage of the price difference. Triangular arbitrage is the result of a discrepancy between three foreign currencies that happens when the exchange rates of the currencies do not exactly match. These opportunities are quite rare.

R1,30 JHB

As rare as it is, the beauty of it is that we can now do it in an instant on our phones with little to no risk.

USD

ZAR

EUR

It also applies to individuals who have freed up funds and are waiting for the ideal time to reinvest it in the stock market when the fog clears.

Example: The Rand is R16 to the dollar, however the dollar is performing well against the euro and their conversion rate is 1:1. The Rand is R18 to the euro. *EURO to ZAR = R18 *USD to ZAR = 16

The only way the previous generations could do it was to visit a bank branch.

So we are the fortunate generation. We save both energy and money by not having to travel to and from the banks.

The chance for triangular arbitrage has been one of the most visible arrays throughout covid-19 to date, but I believe people are neglecting the opportunity as the corporate world uses triangular arbitrage to make up for lost sales on their typical traditional revenue. All of my opinions and views are not supported by empirical data, but I am almost convinced that no more than 25% of South African youth, if not 25% of the South African population, hasn't used arbitrage to hedge their savings/investments. The more turbulent the market, the more arbitrage opportunities there are.

The difference between the two is R2 and if you Factor in broker fees they total is 30 Cent/R0.30.

Your R16 can turn into R17.70 after fees.

It seems to me, that the frequency in which ways of “being” are changing is increasing with each year. This has increased the number of ways of getting to the same point. If you consider arbitrage, it’s an investment type that takes advantage of the lag in information – detail. Is there a different way of growth in your industry you haven’t considered yet?

I believe that everyone is always interested when someone is sharing about ways to make more money, and that was exactly my reaction when reading Khensani’s article.

An informative read, I would recommend that one needs to do more research about how arbitrage works and take advantage of this opportunity, and of course dependent on one’s risk appetite

I recently attended a speech crafting workshop where they kept repeating that people remember stories, so some of the most important information land through stories. And so this article was beautiful to read because it reminded me of the journey ahead and promises made to ourselves, for people we’ve yet to encounter and the stories we would tell of the changes we will make.

Gareth’s article clearly illustrates that there must be an intention and meaning with every logo

design. In his field of work, this becomes very important as the logo is the first picture that comes to mind whenever a company is mentioned. Therefore, it becomes equally important to ensure that what you want people to remember and resonate with when it comes to the company must be clearly depicted in the logo. The logo in this case, clearly shows every intention that we have as directors of Imizizi Evolution, we want to support and empower businesses, engage with leaders and various stakeholders who are making an impact in society and ensure sustainable businesses have the necessary funding required to take the businesses to the level of growth.

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SMEs are the backbone of the SA Economy Gugu Sithole Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have historically played a vital role in global economic growth and sustainable development. In South Africa, the more than two million SMEs account for nearly half of employment creation and an economic output of around 20% of the GDP. In a global context, the World Bank estimates that SMEs account for 90% of all businesses worldwide and 50% of employment.

The statistic places the SME sector as a crucial nexus to South Africa’s economic growth. However, a myriad of existing barriers need to be dealt with before this is achieved. Access to finance, markets, recognition by big companies and bureaucratic processes are some of the challenges affecting SMEs. These are particularly felt to a greater extent by female entrepreneurs.

The Covid-19 pandemic shook the bedrock of the world economy, permanently changing the world’s trajectory, with economists predicting that it will take at least a few years to stabilize the global economic base. SMEs in South Africa took a huge knock. with hundreds closing shop and shedding jobs. At the current national rate of 34,5%, unemployment is staggering the country. The frustration by job seekers is beginning to show through regular protestations. In the long term, this could destabilise the economy.

The rolling electricity blackouts (load shedding) are worsening the operating business environment. SMEs have to constantly spend more working capital on alternative energy sources. Some have shed more jobs as most of the production time goes to waste due to load shedding.

However, all is not lost. These economic challenges present an opportunity to turn the fortunes and grow the economy, creating more jobs. SMEs are central to this economic imperative. The paradigm lies in inclusivity. Sustainable development requires an approach that does not leave low growth areas behind.

Women Led Businesses And Rural Inclusion Latest data shows an encouraging growth trend of women run enterprises in South Africa. However, the socio-economic contributions and entrepreneurial capabilities of women run enterprises remains largely unrecognised and untapped especially for women in rural and marginalised communities.

Like the 20 000 strong women contingent of 1956 who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to fight a draconian law that restricted their right to movement, today’s women are following in the footsteps of our forerunners, by challenging the status quo. This spirit plays out in every fabric of our social being, it stands more apparent in the business spheres.

Women, against all odds and barriers are fighting for recognition while dealing with structural barriers, traditional biases and constantly having to prove that we are capable. Women are making headway. They are no longer - as traditionally regarded concentrated only in the informal, microsized business environments.

Women are setting the agenda through organised dialogues. Women are calling for enabling and gender responsive policies that are critical in stimulating the economy, reducing poverty and ensuring strong societies.

We are expanding our empowerment and conservation work in rural communities of the Drakensberg, Clarens and Coffee Bay. We are training young people to film and tell conservation stories. This is an active way of including them in the conservation discourse. The "us and them" approach on conservation does not work, inclusion does. We are intentional about creating businesses with a strong focus on uplifting our women, communities and humanity at large.

“Young people will be able to tell their stories in a monetised model. This creates employment in rural spaces that most people wanted to leave.”

Women are organising and forming support structures, creating opportunities, demanding access to markets, and turbo-charging the process of economic development. This has a cascading effect to disenfranchised communities.

South Africa is a country still divided into two. Ranked as the most unequal country in the world, South Africa’s inequality is more evident in the tourism sector. Travel is associated with the privileged. This is an injustice. Glamping Adventures was founded on this premise, fighting for equality and equity in travel. The Glamping Adventures model is built on using travel as clarion call for equality and economic empowerment of women who live in tourist attractions we host our glamping experiences in.

One that drive sustainable economies. We believe in inclusive development, if we are to make structural change on the economic scale, then we need, as women to handhold each other and grow as a unit.

As Glamping Adventures, we are developing a digital marketplace for rural artistes to list their products. This will expand their market reach and revenue from the purchases will go to the artistes. This work builds on our operational objective of supporting artistes in communities we travel to by offering them opportunities to perform and or exhibit their products to travellers.

Very soon, women in rural communities within tourism attractions will be able to host tourists through a model that we are using to empower them. Artistes will reach a new market. Young people will be able to tell their stories in a monetised model. This creates employment in rural spaces that most people wanted to leave. We believe that with adequate support, such interventions create sustainable development in an inclusive way. This is evidence that Small to Medium Enterprises are key to economic development. Small, decentralised efforts have a big aggregate effect.

SMEs are increasingly being called to become the cornerstone of economic growth in South Africa, to create jobs and build sustainable communities. The entrepreneurs are ready to take the baton and the risks that come with owning businesses, but a high level of support for small businesses though a mix of concessions and are needed to thrive.

Gugu Sithole is the CEO of Glamping Adventures (www.glamping-adventures), a company that offers bespoke glamping experiences, outdoor corporate retreats and glamping conference around South Africa and the region. Glamping Adventures believes in impact travel and empowerment of communities within tourism assests.

With inclusivity at the core of our existence as an organization, I was drawn to Gugu’s perspective on not leaving anyone behind. Here is we see another opportunity that is rarely considered by most because of the perceived notion that women in rural areas for example cannot run successful businesses, the perceived notion that a certain level of education is required. There is indeed an untapped goldmine because of yet more restrictions and barriers created. The idea that needs to shared is that everyone benefits from a woman in business, because we are more than capable.

Gugu shares very important statistics about the trajectory of SMEs in the SA economy.

Statistics that should not only shake us about the current state of affairs in SA and it ends there, but these are also statistics that should make us carefully think about the real impact that could be achieved if enough focus is given to building sustainable SMEs. Gugu really zooms in to the fact that entrepreneurs are ready and capable of creating jobs and building sustainable communities. I believe that more funds are required to be directed towards funding models that will be focused more on growing SMEs, as this is the future of Africa.

Importance of venture capitalists financing for small businesses Priscar Nomagugu

A venture capitalist is a corporate finance investor who invests in high-growth firms in return for a share of the company's ownership, this might include sponsoring new projects or assisting small businesses that want to grow but don't have exposure to the to the market. Most venture capital investors are limited partners with the participants funding their investment.

Further, a committee is usually needed which remains responsible for taking all investment related decisions for the organisation. Following prospective and emerging firm identification, the aggregate investor funds are used to support these companies in trade for significant equity interest.

Generally, venture investors seek out firms with professionally managed organisers, an immense potential marketplace, and a specific service or product that offers a significant competitive edge. Investors also look for opportunities in Industries they are familiar with and can control a substantial piece of the best company and therefore have a voice in how it operates

Perks of Venture Capital investors Acquiring merchant capital funding may give a start-up or fledging firm a valuable component of expertise and business council in addition to cash assistance. This may aid in a range of corporate choices such as financial and human resources planning. making more thoughtful judgements in five key areas will become increasingly critical as the company expands.

Venture capital investors can provide significant help in several essential aspects, notably legal, taxation and personal problems, which are critical for enhancing the company's performance: two possible significant benefits are expansion and high profitability. Furthermore, many qualified workers may view a venture-backed firm as a less risky than a start-up with no capital, hiring a diverse and robust workforce simpler.

Using venture capital to fund the firm helps entrepreneurs manage the risk that comes with launching a company.

Start-ups are more likely to prevent severe challenges if a skilled staff oversees their growth and operations.

Although the probability of failure for business remains around 70% in the in South Africa, having anyone to turn to for help when faced with difficult scenarios might increase the chances of making the correct option.

Many prominent entrepreneurs become associates at venture investment firms upon exiting their company.

They frequently have prior expertise in expanding a business resolving day-to-day and broader difficulties and tracking financial results. Entrepreneurs are generally experienced in supporting start-ups and sit on the panels with many, even if individuals do not have an entrepreneur history. As a result this may help them become essential leaders for the rising businesses.

Reading through this took me down memory lane when we had just started our business and we desperately needed some form of guidance and support (financial or non). This was one of the reasons we felt that, as much as possible, we can help entrepreneurs better navigate the unchartered paths they would embark on, and give the necessary support required for any business to grow, especially financially.

Priscar’s article gives a good summary of why venture capitalists exist and the benefits it come with. Small businesses have a lot to benefit, not only from a finance point of view but also get to benefit from the expertise that venture capitalists bring.

https://www.growthwheel.com/

Opinion Piece: Addressing the entrepreneurial funding knowledge gap with the launch of a comprehensive funding handbook Zevoli Growth Partners

Zevoli Growth Partners in conjunction with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is thrilled to announce the release of the first in a series of much-anticipated funding guides for local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Going after the right money in the right way “The purpose of these funding handbooks is knowledge sharing,” explains Mpopi Khupe, Managing Director at Zevoli Growth Partners. “In working with micro and small businesses, we provide non-funding business development support, but a recurring theme from all of our programmes is that small businesses fundamentally believe that funding is the solution to the bulk of their problems. However, a lot of the time, they’re not funding-ready or they’re going after the wrong money,” Khupe continues. “With this and future handbooks, we intend to help micro and small businesses gain a proper understanding of the funding solutions available, and how to position themselves correctly to access the appropriate resources they need to grow.”

True catalysts of economic development “As a global network of organisations looking to propel entrepreneurship in developing economies, ANDE understands that small and growing businesses are the true catalysts for job creation,” notes Sekai Chiwandamira, ANDE Chapter Head in South Africa.

“We saw the development of this series of handbooks in partnership with Zevoli as a great opportunity, not only to share knowledge with the small and growing businesses, but with the ecosystem as a whole.”

Having identified a number of gaps within the ecosystem relating to finance, Chiwandamira believes that this partnership is a strategic opportunity to strengthen the entire ecosystem in a way that constructively assists growing businesses to scale. “Often, guides like these tend to speak exclusively to a specific segment of the business sector. However, through the envisaged series that will focus on different funding solutions, we intend to broaden access to all types of finance, particularly on a microand small-business level,” Chiwandamira adds.

Packaging knowledge in palatable formats The first issue of the handbook will explore national development funding institutions in South Africa. Subsequent issues will unpack a range of others, including provincial development agencies, MSME funding offered by corporates, retail banks’ MSME funding. “There tends to be a perception there is no money out there for MSMEs, but this is not the case. By packaging information in a palatable manner, we hope to give small business owners the knowledge, skills, and ability to develop a holistic understanding of the funding options that are available to them and put through wellarticulated applications that stand a chance of being successful.

There are few things in the world as efficient in skills transfer as intentional mentorship.

What Zevoli has done is not only make critical business information readily available and packaged, but they are also offering knowledge transfer and “mentorship” in your pocket.

This article reminded me that if you truly want to, there is no limit to the number of ways you can help people.

This is great work being done by Zevoli Growth Partners, sharing knowledge with small businesses will definitely increase awareness to more small business owners. I especially loved the phrase “packaging knowledge in palatable formats”. Reading the article makes me excited to read further from the handbook, especially to see where are the opportunities for funding and women. I will definitely follow the series of handbooks as they get released.

women magnify results Janet Featherstone

It’s time women multiplied their results in a male-dominated world The year was 2001. I had recently been appointed as a member of the board of the Telco I worked for, which was a proud moment for me in my short career. I was 30 years old and pretty wet behind the ears. As I walked into my first board meeting and looked around the room at my peers, the reality that I was the only female in the room really hit home.

In that meeting, my place in the room was swiftly communicated by a board member from our holding company referring to me as ‘luvvie’. I may have been in the room, but I had clearly not earned my place at the table. In that moment, I made a commitment to myself that I would trailblaze a path for myself and do everything in my power to help others to take their seat at the table after me.

Thankfully, much has changed in the past twenty years. But further change is still needed. My experience, set me on the ultimate course of coaching leaders – largely women – to understand how to navigate business and to multiply their results at work.

Through this journey, I have identified at least five differences that can cause women to play small, and not benefit to the same degree as our male counterparts. It’s time we enabled ourselves fully, and we do so through adopting updated approaches.

1. If you can do the job, you’ve already outgrown it Men can scale the hierarchy far quicker than women. Why? Because they are likely to take greater risks. They back themselves more than women do. Women, in general, need confidence that they can handle all aspects of a role, before they will consider applying for it.

They may undertake ‘sideways’ moves to enable knowledge about the entire role scope before contemplating applying for it.

It’s important for women to consider that if we can do a job in its entirety before we even apply for it, we have already outgrown that role. New roles should stretch us; there should be an element of uncertainty. There must be room for growth and expansion. Our male counterparts can be comfortable to apply for roles for which they are not fully prepared. And they land them.

It’s time we back ourselves too.

2. And how to negotiate when you’re in the running It’s a fact that, in general, women are paid 20% less than their male counterparts for doing the same work. And there’s even research to prove that when women are active participants on the boards of organisations, those organisations do better than organisations with male-only boards. Women bring something different!

Yet, when women are asked about their salary expectations, they state the expectation. Men state the expectation plus a 50% margin, which excludes the share incentives, bonuses and any other perks may be in play. And once the offers and negotiations are concluded, women end up with incremental increases.

It’s time we demand for equal reward for equal work.

3. Your male counterpart has a wife – you don’t Talking about work life balance with a male colleague highlights the different contexts the genders face. Generally, when we look at a highpowered male executive, their wife will play a significant role in managing the household, running the kids around and raising amazing children. But if you are the wife, and either your husband himself has a top notch job or you are a single parent, you don’t have the benefit of this level of support system.

So what’s the answer? The requirement is to build a support system around you that allows you to play at the same level as your male counterparts.

And that may mean hiring a home executive, buying healthy readymade meals, leveraging grannies and grandpas to help out, and organising tutors and lift clubs to ease your schedule. And whilst you may feel guilty about not being able to spend as much time with your kids as other Moms, recognise that quality tops quantity.

It's time we set up our support system to even the playing field.

4. Don’t set precedents you don’t want In my coaching practice, I see this often. When we land that new job, we really want to make a good, early impression.

So we invest evenings and weekends delivering the highest quality. But a year in, we’re still working like slaves. And resentment builds.

It’s hard to recognise that we are the cause of these situations. We were the ones who originally demonstrated our willingness to work ridiculous hours, and to give away our private time for company gain.

It’s time to start the way we want to continue.

Set boundaries. Hold those boundaries.

5. Do not allow yourself to be stereotyped Be mindful of the roles you play when you’re at work.

Do not get drawn into playing the role of organising the food and arranging the teas. Do not be the only one responsible for taking the minutes, typing them up and/or distributing them. These stereotypical roles are the ones that – perhaps unconsciously – impact the perception of our abilities and capabilities.

Play to the strengths of people around the table and share the responsibility for the tasks that were previously the exclusive domain of women.

It’s time to powerfully own your seat at the table.

It’s time that women in business support other women in business, recognising that a rising tide lifts all ships.

When we watch a fellow female fail, or worse yet, engineer that failure, we contribute to the old belief system that women are not as capable as our male counterparts. And that impacts us all.

There are some key learnings we can take from how our male counterparts go about their journeys. Success leaves clues, and when we enable our context to give us the same freedoms to push the boundaries, and we back ourselves enough to know that we are as capable and as able, we can perhaps not only powerfully claim our seat at the table, but also our voice in the room.

6. Leverage a network - ask for what you need, don’t feel bad.

7.

Don’t mistake gentleness for weakness - find your own leadership style

8. What you say about others speaks volumes about you. Professional every day.

9. Have bold conversations. Don’t allow things to slide - especially at the beginning. Have tough conversations quickly

10. Never stop learning. Hire mentors. hire coaches. Educate yourself. Learn every aspect of business.

The beauty about curving a path, with the intention that more must follow lies in the selfless-ness of the endeavor. It is also very nerve wrecking, once the thought settles in your head that this is a cross you must bear. The pressure is suddenly not just the thing taken on, but rather that the success of so many other women who haven’t even landed where you are on your shoulders. Women in business still see themselves having to bear these crosses, just new spaces. It becomes imperative for women to consciously back other women, continuously, and have the courage to take up a seat at the table, and not only know you are meant to be there, but that you would ensure other women are sitting across you – Powerful.

Janet shares her personal story which is so relatable and I know most women in the corporate or business world have experienced. Reading each and every one of the 5 points to magnify our results as women, I must say that I have noted down quite a few life changing points. The statement that hit the hardest is the fact that our male counterparts may have wives, but we don’t. This is a hard reality for women but creating a support system can surely help.

3,500 Women Entrepreneurs to Benefit from App-Based and Online Training Cherie Blair The GIBS Entrepreneurship Development Academy, DHL Express and the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust are collaborating to bring the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women’s award-winning programmes to 3,500 women entrepreneurs to help boost their businesses!

In ongoing efforts to unlock business skills for women, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women has partnered with the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s (GIBS) Entrepreneurship Development Academy (EDA) and DHL Express. Together, they will deliver the Foundation’s award-winning mobile learning app HerVenture and flagship business skills training programme Road to Growth to over 3,500 women business owners in South Africa. This in turn spells incredible benefits to families, communities and the economy.

HerVenture provides women entrepreneurs of micro and small enterprises with the knowledge and skills required to successfully advance their businesses. It has reached more than 50,000 women across the globe to date.

Available in South Africa thanks to funding from DHL Express and the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, the GIBS EDA has been tasked with engaging at least 3,500 more women entrepreneurs as users by the end of 2022.

HerVenture has been specifically created, crafted, and curated using a gender lens approach to help women claim their rightful space as equal and skilled entrepreneurs. Access to markets remains a key challenge for women entrepreneurs who are often constrained by heteronormative gender norms such as being solely responsible for childcare and household responsibilities beyond their career ventures. The app consequently promotes women’s agency and facilitates access to markets by allowing users to find, connect, and collaborate with other women entrepreneurs, and can also be used to learn about local business events.

Road to Growth, the Foundation’s intensive, sevenweek investment readiness training programme, will be brought to South Africa for the first time, building on the 2,800 women it has supported so far worldwide. Delivered by the GIBS EDA, the programme will offer a select group of 50 women entrepreneurs the opportunity to progress in their entrepreneurial journey, building business skills, financial literacy, networks and confidence via online learning and coaching.

The partnership builds on the successes of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and DHL Express’ ongoing collaboration.

This has included piloting HerVenture in South Africa in 2021. The app was met with a target-breaking uptake and wide praise as over 2,000 women entrepreneurs used it to achieve growth and resilience, with the majority of users reporting improved business performance.

Now, thanks to the partnership’s addition of the GIBS EDA and the project’s inclusion of Road to Growth, this impact is set to scale. Over 2022, HerVenture will support women to bridge the alarming digital gender divide by offering crucial and accessible digital skills, with 94% of existing users saying they will apply the app’s teachings when running their business. With the addition of Road to Growth, offering women a “next step” in their entrepreneurial journey, 50 more women-owned businesses will boom across South Africa. This, in turn, will spell huge benefits to families, local communities and the economy as women invest in their children’s health and education, create jobs, innovate, provide essential services and challenge gender stereotypes as leaders.

“Supporting the growth of women-owned enterprises provides South Africa with the opportunity to generate sustainable economic livelihoods, reduce poverty and grow the economy. Since 2021 our HerVenture app has supported over 2,000 women in South Africa to overcome barriers and grow their businesses, in turn contributing to their families, communities and the economy. We’re delighted to build on this work in 2022 and support thousands more women entrepreneurs through HerVenture and Road to Growth, together with our partners DHL Express, the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, and Gordon Institute of Business Science.” said Helen McEachern, CEO at the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Hennie Heymans, CEO at DHL Express SubSaharan Africa, adds, “We are delighted to be a part of this incredible programme, aimed at empowering and upskilling women entrepreneurs in South Africa. The partnership with GIBS EDA will help accelerate the reach dramatically and positively impact even more families and communities. Supporting women’s economic empowerment increases diversity and boosts income equality, which directly drives economic growth for all.”

Miranda Hosking, Managing Executive for Social Education at GIBS added, “Women’s economic empowerment is essential to inclusive economic growth. We are passionate about creating and contributing to a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem that will enable women entrepreneurs to flourish so that they are ultimately able to build sustainable businesses and generate much needed jobs. We are proud to be partnering with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to capacitate women entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to effectively run and optimise their businesses.”

For media enquiries, contact the GIBS EDA’s Marketing Manager, Faiza Mallick at mallickf@gibs.co.za

Reading stories like these always warms my heart. And not the many people backing an idea, but keeping to the vision of what was set out to do, smash those goals, expand and actually help other businesses grow, creating an ever expanding network of other smaller businesses that will in turn have their ripple effect in the lives of those impacted. This proves that you can always ‘bet on a women’

A beautiful partnership by 3 powerful organizations, especially crafted to deliver purposeful training for women business owners. I like the fact that the app has been especially created using a gender lens approach. With this mentioned, I expect that the app will be accommodative of a businesswoman’s lifestyle throughout the training journey.

Pervasive ‘bro culture‘ in fintech a hurdle for women

By Ivor Price The fintech industry is notorious for its “bro’ culture,” an environment characterised by sexism and demeaning habits such as mansplaining. This is according to Triya Govender, head of marketing at Floatpays, a South African fintech start-up.

She tells Ventureburn that bro’ culture is “a misogynistic, work-at-all-costs, ‘machismo’ culture that undervalues and alienates women, and reinforces outdated, traditional gender roles; a culture which is, unfortunately, extremely prevalent in the fintech industry. Govender believes that bro’ culture presents significant challenges to women in fintech.

‘Work-at-all-costs’ culture penalises women Women carry the domestic load in most households. “For example, globally women spent three times the number of hours that men did on childcare in 2020 —an average of 173 additional hours versus 59. Where ‘work-at-allcosts’ culture rewards giving all of yourself to the job and frowns upon ‘work life balance’, women with their disproportionate responsibility in the home – are penalised,” says Govender.

All too often, she says, if a woman can’t work late during the week because of childcare responsibilities, her commitment, focus and/or ability to get a job done well is brought into question. “Often, this perception is formed despite a woman’s actual productivity levels or performance track record. It is a prime example of performance bias in the workplace.”

Govender argues that this bias can have a number of negative effects on a woman, not least of which is the impact on promotion opportunities and opportunities to lead major projects within a business.

She says that the impact of a ‘work-at-allcosts’ culture on women is apparent in many sectors but especially in burgeoning industries like fintech, where this kind of unequal treatment is excused or even justified by the demands of a high growth sector.

Addressing this challenge requires implementing mechanisms to safeguard against bias. But more importantly, Govender believes that it requires replacing “work-atall-costs” culture with one that values greater balance between work and life and fosters psychological safety – “where a woman can feel safe to say they need to leave work early to take their child to the doctor, for example”.

Values, beliefs and behaviours drive culture and whilst values and beliefs are harder to change, Govender says that behaviours can be encouraged more easily. “Interventions such as flexible work options — the ability to work remotely or to have flexible hours throughout the day — is one way to drive behaviour that helps shift an organisation away from ‘work-at-all-costs’ culture”.

The politics of ‘likeability’ Outdated, traditional gender roles are a hallmark of bro’ culture. As a result, Govender says that different standards apply to men and women.

“Take for example a character trait such as assertiveness in the context of leadership or career advancement. A man who is assertive is often perceived as “leadership material” but an assertive woman may be labelled “difficult” or worse. A lack of assertiveness – more often than not – puts one at a disadvantage when it comes to being promoted.

“For women, being assertive often makes you unlikeable, which also makes you less likely to be promoted. Either way, gender stereotypes and biases create different standards for men and women and hold back women’s’ progression in the

workplace,” she says.

Triya Govender is the head of marketing at Floatpays, an on-demand wage access platform. Photo: Supplied/Ventureburn

Whilst it is highly unlikely that bias in the workplace can be completely eradicated, there are a number of interventions that Govender encourages employers to make to reduce its impact on women and other marginalised groups. As a very basic starting point, she says that employers can: ∙

Establish an evidenced based process for decision-making in the areas of hiring and promoting, so that these conversations aren’t influenced by ‘performance bias’.

∙

Train everyone in the business – especially leaders – on the topic of bias, so that at a minimum people are aware of how it may show up in themselves.

∙

At an organisational level, remind people frequently of the importance of recognizing bias and striving to be fair at all times.

Gender pay gap becomes a chasm as women progress in tech Offerzen’s State of the Developer Nation report for 2022 revealed that women developers in South Africa earn 17% less than their male counterparts and this figure actually increased by 2% since 2021.

The report also revealed that year on year the gap for women with six to ten years’ worth of experience increased from 3.5% to 15.5% and that as experience increases, so does the pay gap.

According to Govender, the gender pay gap is probably one of the most significant challenges to women in tech (including fintech). “In many ways, this particular challenge is the consequence of the other challenges mentioned above,” she adds.

Bias, different standards, and workplace cultures that marginalise women present significant challenges to women in fintech. Govender believes that solving these challenges will require a persistent awareness drive of the issues (to avoid a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’), and concerted efforts by employers and leaders to change workplace policies and behaviours.

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Triya Govender is the head of marketing at Floatpays, a technology platform that enables on-demand access to earned pay, seamless savings functionality and financial education to build employee financial wellness for a more engaged and productive workforce.

Ivor Price is a multi-award-winning journalist.

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This article belongs to and was originally published on ventureburn.

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I once heard a woman say: “Women must think like men to be successful but don’t act like one if you want to be liked. Work like you have no children and parent like you have no job” This was my thought as I read through the article.

The bro culture is still a very prevalent phenomena not just in fintech, but across industries where there are few or no women taking the lead. The need for more women empowered to take up these spaces and change mindsets becomes a necessity

It is interesting to read real life examples that most of us can relate to, as we have seen the effects of bro culture either happen to us or those around us. It was even more interesting to see the statistics highlighting the pay gap which keeps on increasing year on year. One would think that we have progressed on addressing the imbalances of how women are treated in the workplace compared to their male counterparts, but we have not even started addressing the real issues that will make the difference. Govender, captures this very well in this article.

LAST WORD Yolisa Tshabalala

Why 9?

You might have noticed that our first issue of 1956 has featured 9 articles from 9 highly esteemed leaders from various industries and career domains. You may ask why is it that we have chosen 9 articles when we could have chosen any number. We could have chosen to feature more than 9 articles especially considering that the month of August is dedicated to celebrating women, so featuring more articles was going to make sense, right?

We chose not to follow that route, but we carefully selected 9 prestigious and powerful leaders to represent and share their thoughts.

The 9th and its significance We celebrate the 9th of August to commemorate women across races who marched to the Union buildings against the pass laws in 1956. The march was organised by the Federation of South African Women (FSAW or FEDSAW) challenging the idea that “a woman's place is in the kitchen”, declaring it instead to be “everywhere”. 66 years later, we firmly believe that a woman’s place and role is “everywhere” and without limitation. Some of the women featured in this edition are heading up education institutions, running their own businesses and contributing to the economy of South Africa. Imagine if women’s place was only the kitchen, we would maybe still be driving cars without wipers, hot summer days without ice cream and no invisible glasses used for our spectacles & we would not have wine glasses amongst some of the great inventions women pioneered.

On 9 August 2000, National Women's Day, a monument was unveiled at the Malibongwe Embokodweni, the amphitheatre at Union Buildings to celebrate and commemorate the event of 1956. 22 years later, we see men and women alike gathering in numbers in different venues and different stages across the country, honouring this significant day. I have also attended some of these gatherings that tend to be very colourful, men and women from every race, culture and social status coming together for one purpose, to remember the significance of 9 August 1956. It’s almost as if it’s a day set aside to celebrate one another and promote inclusivity, diversity and equality.

History

Significance for today

ManyMany of us may not even be aware that the 1956 march against the pass laws was not the first march South African women organised to fight against the system. The 1913 Land Act became law limiting African land ownership to 7 percent, restricting black people from buying or occupying land except as employees of a white master. The law led to the mass relocation of people of colour, it confined and tightened freedom of movement for black people. Women were subsequently required to also carry documentation that had to be presented to police officers or city officers on their demand, the passes were meant to establish tighter controls over domestic service.

Today the baton has been passed onto us, what will we do to elevate the stage for the next generation of women to build onto. How are we organising ourselves for a course bigger than ourselves to benefit everyone around us? Thomas Sankara once remarked that "We do not talk of women’s emancipation as an act of charity or because of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the triumph of the revolution.

Women hold up the other half of the sky" which makes me wonder whether we as South African women realise the influence and responsibility we have for the next generation of women?

The Bantu Women’s league (BWL) led by Charlotte Mannya Maxeke took action against the imposition of the pass laws. The campaign led by women started in the now Free State known then as the Orange Free State which was the first province to issue passes for women. The series of protests eventually got white women organising marches to support the women of colour and eventually in 1918 the campaign bore fruits; the pass laws were finally then relaxed.

1956 sets to awaken that sense of responsibility, which lies with all of us men and women alike, by setting the stage for dialogue aimed at promoting inclusivity, diversity and equality. South Africa is ours to love, nurture and come up with solutions that will promote economic growth that will attract the global stage.

At the heart of the matter is small business growth, support and investment.

Walk the journey with us, follow us for our next issue

The class of Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn’s march was an extension of what the Bantu Women’s league started. It paved the way for women across races to organise themselves and challenge the system.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SELLO HATANG CEO of Nelson Mandela Foundation