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Lionesses of Africa Conference highlighted the success of our continent’s women in business
Boitumelo
Community Coordinator

Although they have proven their capabilities throughout the formal SME spectrum, Africa’s more than one million women entrepreneurs still find it a challenge to access the finance they need for their ventures. This is one of the core issues that was addressed at the Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference 2017, held on 6 September at Johannesburg’s Inanda Club.

Delegates from all over the continent attended the conference, hosted by Standard Bank in partnership with Liberty, and Lionesses of Africa, an online community launched in 2014 by social entrepreneur Melanie Hawken. This public benefit corporation showcases the achievements of African women business builders, and assists them to fulfil their potential by creating networking opportunities that cross national and international boundaries. Since its official launch on the first global Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on 19 November 2014, Lionesses of Africa has rapidly built its community to over 400 000 women in 49 African countries.

 

Not only did it focus on the challenges faced by African business women in all sectors, this year’s Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference celebrated the role women are playing in sectors varying from manufacturing to ‘green’ industries. In addition, it highlighted African women who have developed brands that have successfully transcended Africa and entered global markets.

Standard Bank Incubator Head Jayshree Naidoo revealed that Standard Bank has long acknowledged the increasingly important role women are playing in the economy – both in South Africa and in countries in which we have a presence. This acknowledgement has translated into tangible action; besides our support for Lionesses of Africa, we have partnered with organisations such as Liberty Life, General Electric and others to create and manage programmes that support entrepreneurs pursuing their dreams.

 

For instance, the Standard Bank Incubator upskills and mentors entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs, while one of our partnerships with Liberty, The Liberty Blue Skies Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme, actively supports transformation by helping SMES become part of corporate supply chains.  

According to Head of Transformation and Inclusion at Liberty, Amanda Khoza, taking SMEs to their next level has seen women across all sectors strengthen their businesses and employ others. So far, over 100 women-owned businesses have been supported through the targeted accelerator programmes of The Liberty Blue Skies Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme. Furthermore, youth-owned SMEs have been advanced in the technology and innovation space.

 

“We are proud that Standard Bank ‘walks the talk’ and can stand proud of its internal achievements at conferences like these,” said Ms Naidoo. “Standard Bank’s women now occupy more than 50% of managerial posts, considerably higher than the national average of 23%. Support of the Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference is, therefore, an opportunity for Standard Bank to action its beliefs about women in business, and assist them to achieve their true potential.”