Ekurhuleni Business Women Council to offer support for women to strive in business

As the country continues to build back its economy, it’s not easy for small businesses as they still try to recover from the effects of lockdown.

Ekurhuleni Business Women Council founder and chairperson Nandi Xaba spoke about the challenges women in business are facing now and the council’s plans to assist them.

The council was established this year after Xaba discovered the challenges Ekurhuleni women in business face.

“Women in Ekurhuleni miss opportunities because companies don’t know where to find them. They need a platform where they can receive the support and assistance to thrive,” said Xaba.

The aim of the council is to create a collaborative, socio-economic transformational platform for women in business in the Ekurhuleni region.

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She said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were affected by the lockdown.

“Small businesses are always given small jobs within projects and sometimes they don’t even make a profit from that work. You can imagine during the lockdown they did not have any work and that meant no money for them and some now have to start afresh,” said Xaba.

City of Ekurhuleni, in partnership with South African National Roads Agency Limited, held an engagement session with stakeholders on November 17.

Xaba said she was pleased that such a session was held because it’s needed.

“I was happy that SMEs were acknowledged in this meeting because in order for small businesses to grow they need to be empowered and given the opportunity to make a profit from the work they have done and not get leftovers,” said Xaba.

“As a council, we represent women from all walks of life and different types of business.

“We support them because as women we deal with many challenges and if we are not in the right state of mind that can also make the business suffer,” said Xaba.

She said women in business need to look for opportunities.

“We always go for the end-products and tertiary jobs. We must look at the primary jobs because they also play a vital role,” said Xaba.

She said as an entrepreneur you must be innovative and willing to change and adapt.

Xaba said the EBWC will be offering holistic support to women in Ekurhuleni.

The council plans to embark on a roadshow in Ekurhuleni.