Women account for less than 1 in 5 business owners in South Africa. While more than half of our population are women, the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) found that women make up only 19.4% of business owners in South Africa, ranking us 45th in the world when it comes to woman-run companies. That’s a long way behind other African nations like Uganda (39.6%), Botswana (38.5%), and Ghana (36.5%).
Historically, Women’s Month celebrates the strength and resilience of women and their contributions to our country and society. However, it is also an opportunity to draw attention to many critical issues women in South Africa still face. This August, Faithful to Nature will partner with its women-founded suppliers, entrepreneur ed-tech platform HeavyChef, clean skincare brand lelive, and global women’s organisation SheSays, to increase the representation of women entrepreneurs.
Heavy Chef, a learning platform for entrepreneurs, will be gifting 249 women-founded Faithful to Nature suppliers a year-long membership with Heavy Chef to help them build their businesses. Says Fred Roed, CEO & founder of Heavy Chef, “The Heavy Chef education team is incredibly excited to support the women entrepreneurs on the Faithful-to-Nature platform. By collaborating, we aim to tackle the obvious inequality in the South African business landscape. This is important work, and we are privileged to be part of it.”
Faithful to Nature has also partnered with clean skincare brand lelive, founded by local actress Amanda du-Pont. “It’s long overdue for women to be celebrated in business, and I love working with other businesses that share the same vision and drive to uplift and inspire other women to do the same,” says du-Pont.
SheSays and Faithful to Nature will end Women’s Month with a free event at Workshop17 in Cape Town on 25 August. The event will form a panel discussion with five dynamic women supporting female entrepreneurship in South Africa (including Faithful to Nature founder Robyn Smith), offering advice to other women on how to start their enterprises.
“It’s time for us to encourage, inspire, uplift women, and support them in their business ventures. This Women’s Month, we want to show South Africa that it is time to see women for who they are – strong, resilient and most importantly, extremely capable. Supporting women-run businesses is not only good for women but all of us. McKinsey & Company estimates that if women and men could start and grow businesses at an equal rate, the global GDP would likely increase by $28 trillion by 2025. Doesn’t that say it all?” says Smith.
