Top Women in Business & Government

SAWEN (The South African Entrepreneurs Network)

SAWEN, formulated in the year 2000, was created with the aim to represent and articulate the aspirations of all women entrepreneurs within South Africa’s SMME sector. Managed and run as a public-private partnership by women in business, operating as a section 21 company, SAWEN was championed by the ex-deputy minister, Lindiwe Hendricks of the department of trade and industry (the dti). The establishment of South African Women Entrepreneurs Network (SAWEN) is a reaction to the fact that women entrepreneurs in South Africa continuously face a wide array of obstacles in starting, growing and sustaining their own enterprises. This dti initiative is a networking forum for individuals and organisations that are committed to the promotion and advancement of women entrepreneurs. SAWEN is a South African national network that facilitates and monitors the socio-economic advancement of women entrepreneurs and their positive effect on the country’s economy. SAWEN addresses a wide of gender-related obstacles facing women in business by advocating appropriate policy changes building their capacity and facilitating access to business opportunities and information.
There are nine SAWEN chapters; one in each of South Africa’s provinces that aim to promote the entrepreneurial businesses of rural and urban women. The objectives of the organisation, committed to the advancement of women entrepreneurs are:

To provide a national vehicle that bring women together and addresses the challenges faced by them
To lobby government, public and private institutions on such issues; not limited to policy, legislation or proposed legislation affecting either directly or indirectly the trade and commerce activities of women entrepreneurs
To align SAWEN with other bodies or organisations with similar business at both a national and international level, and to leverage the relationships arising out of these alignment’s for the benefit of its members
To facilitate access to business resources, information and opportunities for South African women entrepreneurs in a way that promotes their effective participation in the global economy
To profile and affirm women in business leadership positions across the public and private sectors

The SAWEN patron and deputy minister of the dti is Elizabeth Thabethe. Her acting chief executive officer is Mmabatho Matiwane and SAWEN president is Nonhlanhla Mjoli-Mncube.

Mmabatho Matiwane:
Head of the dti’s gender and women’s empowerment
Mmabatho Matiwane was the first gender programme manager to be appointed by the dti and spearheaded its gender and transformation that resulted in a 50 percent recruitment drive of women in the dti. She helped to create a women-friendly culture in the dti through interventions. This also led to the appointment of women both at senior and strategic management level, exceeding the 30 percent quota.

Matiwane led the hosting and co-hosting of international and national conferences on women and the economy, including Women and Trade; the Global Summit of Women 2000; International Courageous Women in Leadership 2002; International Women in Business Forum 2005; and conceptualised and pioneered the establishment of the South African Women’s Entrepreneurs Network (SAWEN). She participated in drafting the SADC - 1st Ladies Declaration for 2003 (Tanzania) as part of the SA spousal office and under the leadership of former deputy minister of the dti Lindiwe Hendricks, who facilitates the SA women minister’s forum. Matiwane also facilitates business linkages seeking opportunities for SA women entrepreneurs; and organises and facilitates women’s exclusive trade missions. Furthermore, in 2003 she was awarded the dti Phenomenal Women for Leadership on Gender and Transformation and continues to provide ongoing leadership to her peers.

Matiwane recently championed the first SAWEN annual conference and AGM attended by president Thabo Mbeki who re-committed the South African government to more tangible benefits for women entrepreneurs and who is currently finalising the first strategic framework on gender and women’s economic empowerment, to be approved by Cabinet.

Business values
SAWEN subscribes to the values of gender equity, co-operation, social conscience, integrity and excellence. They strive to continue to address the challenges that face women in SA, and pioneer the legislations that pass through government.

For SAWEN members, key benefits include:

Support services that include group or joint marketing of products
Group or joint buying of input materials or services
Joint tendering or bidding on contracts
Sharing of information on new markets and opportunities
Sharing of containers when exporting
Using members of the network as suppliers or distributors, among other strategies

Vision
SAWEN will represent and articulate the aspirations of all women entrepreneurs (existing and potential) that operate within the South African SMME sector.

Mission
SAWEN is a South African National network that facilitates and monitors the socio-economic advancement of women entrepreneurs and their positive impact on the country’s economy. Says ex-deputy minister Lindiwe Hendricks, “Although we do not provide finance directly to our members, our strength has been in providing information and advice as to where women entrepreneurs can access finance and financial services. These include referrals to Khula Enterprise Finance, the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), and the soon-to-be-launched South African Micro-Finance Apex Fund (SAMAF).”

Further, SAWEN hopes that over time, as it grows, that there exists the “potential for it to facilitate greater access to other women entrepreneurs across the continent and across the globe”.

Said the deputy minister, “SAWEN has already been able to expose some South African women entrepreneurs to international forums where they can engage with their counterparts and gain information on the latest business trends. Some of these interactions have businesses with the United Kingdom, Sweden and Morocco. In the near future we plan to engage with businesses from countries such as India and Malaysia.”

It is hoped that SAWEN will facilitate and build women entrepreneurs into a local economic driver. The primary clients/members of SAWEN is any female South African citizen owning or managing an enterprise, thus contributing towards growing the SA economy, as well as any women who aspires to start her own business.

The accelerated shared growth initiative of South Africa (Asgi-SA) is a recently tabulated initiative from the dti, and endorsed by SAWEN, for the greater participation of women in economy.

Deputy president of SA, Mlambo-Ngcuka says that “[Asgi-SA] takes advantage of a stable macro-economic environment, an economy that is growing at 4 percent plus in the past two years. Between 2005 and 2009 we seek an annual growth rate that averages 4.5 percent or higher. Between 2010 and 2014 we will seek a growth rate of at least 6 percent of GDP.” Such rates of growth, combined with improved labour absorption, would ensure that SA is able to halve unemployment and poverty in the second decade of freedom.

The implementation of Asgi-SA, which must still be adjusted and fine tuned in the context of ongoing consultations, has already begun. Asgi-SA has built the basis for a national effort to achieve faster and shared economic growth. With this programme social objectives can be met. As a governmental spokesperson, Asgi-SA remarks, “Our second decade of freedom will be the decade in which we radically reduce inequality and virtually eliminate poverty. We know now that we can do it, working together around an initiative which has the support of the nation.”