UN and SA Post Office join forces

UN Women’s South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) and the SA Post Office launched their digital literacy project, which aims to teach digital literacy skills to women entrepreneurs in South Africa.

At the event, Mark Barnes, CEO of the SA Post Office and UN Women SAMCO representative Anne Githuku-Shongwe signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between SAMCO and the SA Post Office, which forms the basis of a programme that intends to turn post office buildings across the country into enterprise hubs equipped with computers and internet access.

The hubs will offer training in digital literacy skills, financial literacy and business principles to women, especially entrepreneurs living in rural areas, as well as access to financial information and services on line. The programme aims to train 10 000 women.

There are more than 1500 Post Office branches in South Africa, and as a result every tiny town and every huge city has a post office. The Post Office wants to use that reach to give women access to services.

Barnes said: “If you’re not comfortable with the digital world you will get left behind,” said Barnes.

Githuku-Shongwe stressed the importance of women’s economic empowerment to growing South Africa’s Economy. Citing McKinsey’s “Women Matter” report, she said: “If women were to play an identical role to men in markets, as much as US$28 trillion or 26 percent of the global GDP, would be added to the global economy by 2025. Gender equality and women’s economic empowerment is an economic imperative.”

In addition to creating enterprise hubs where people living in rural areas can connect to information and training, the project will help participants to unlock economic opportunities such as public and private procurement and financial services, offering training in completing documentation such as grant applications and registration forms. The programme will ultimately be rolled out in each of South Africa’s nine provinces.