The Enterprising Women Programme – or EWP as it is known – represents a dynamic and innovative collaboration between the NWU’s bhive Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) in Vanderbijlpark and Aequis Consulting South Africa.
On 20 September this partnership celebrated its fifth anniversary during a glitzy gala event hosted at the Emerald Resort and Casino Hotel in Vanderbijlpark. During this milestone occasion participants from two renditions of the EWP graduated, namely: EWP Vanderbijlpark (2017) and EWP Sasolburg (2016). The latter represented the programme’s first expansion beyond Vanderbijlpark and saw industry-giant Sasol coming to the table as main sponsor.
According to Dr Esmé Young (Small Business Development, Sasol), the Sasolburg rendition of the programme aims to empower women from Sasolburg’s Zamdela township (which is home to more than 115 000 people). During her address, Dr Young announced that the selection process for the second cohort of start-up female entrepreneurs from the area is already taking place and that funding has successfully been secured for a third cohort of entrepreneurs.
In his address, Prof Herman van der Merwe, deputy dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (Teaching and Learning), said that the programme bears witness to not only the NWU’s commitment to social justice and community upliftment but also the institution’s belief in the power of potential. According to Prof Van der Merwe, South African women are still in the minority when it comes to entrepreneurship despite the fact that more than half of the population is female. Having said this, he thanked Ms Leonie Greyling, an incubation and entrepreneurship development professional and managing director of Aequis Consulting, for her vision and contribution towards the success of the programme.
Apart from the participants receiving their certificates and having the opportunity to showcase their business models and network with high-level representatives from business and industry, the event also saw the launch of the NWU Enterprising Women’s Association. This association will be made up of programme alumni and will subsequently serve as an advisory and networking body.
The event was sponsored by the following collaborative partners: Sasol, NWU bhive EDC, That Little Décor Shop and Bunny Pants Graphic and Web Design Studio. The NWU Enterprising Women’s Association saw former programme participants, Ninya van Zyl (That Little Décor Company) and Gabi Hendrich (Living Stones Talent Factory) step-up as programme champions.
* The EWP represents an eight-month learning programme, which sees a team of experienced presenters representing both academia and the business sector, guiding participants on their respective entrepreneurial journeys.
