The Lowveld branch of the South African Council for Business Women (SACBW) has won the organisation’s prestigious award of Branch of the Year for the third consecutive year.
The announcement was made during the national organisation’s annual congress that was held from October 17 – 18 in Potchefstroom. Business women from all over the country joined the event to exchange business ideas and do plenty of networking. The organisation celebrated its’ 25th anniversary at this congress, and was privileged to have the founding President, Rika Venter, present as a special guest of honour.
The Lowveld brought another award home. Rachel Jacobs, the headmaster of Panorama Secondary School in Graskop, received the Judges’ Special Recognition Award. She was commended for the professional and business orientated strategies she follows in the school which makes it a star performing school in Mpumalanga. Carmolieta Vermeulen, Chairperson of the Lowveld Branch of the SACBW, said that the hard work and dedication of the local management team has ensured that the branch was once again chosen as top performing branch in the country. “The Lowveld has a vibrant business community in which women play an important role, and the SACBW provides an ideal platform for women to network and develop their potential,“ she concluded.
The new presidency team for 2014 was announced at the Congress. Hester du Bruyn from Secunda branch is the new President and Rothea van Biljon from Bloemfontein branch and Cerita Nagy from Centurion branch are the two Vice presidents.
The congress speakers included the branding and marketing expert, Donna Rachelson, who gave an informative presentation on the importance of creating a brand for your business which will make it stand out from the crowd. She is the author of two books, “Branding and Marketing You” and “Branding and Marketing through Teams”. She is currently the CEO and owner of her own Branding and Marketing Consultancy and was previously the Marketing Director of several companies, including Nando’s.
The panel discussion about business opportunities in Africa was lead by Theo Venter, well known business and political analyst. Thomas Reilly, CEO of Sanlam’s Africa property investment portfolio, Hennie Heymans, MD of DHL and Andrew Dale of KPMG discussed various opportunities and challenges for local businesses to expand into Africa. According to the panel, there are ample opportunities for exporting goods and services to other African countries –especially in the small business sector. Africa is currently the fastest growing economy in the world.
International speaker, Loral Langemeier concluded the congress programme with an inspiring presentation on how to thrive financially in the current tough economic climate.The SACBW Lowveld branch will host its’ year-end function on Wednesday, 27 November. All business women who are interested in becoming part of this dynamic organisation are invited to contact the secretary, Elmariet Schwarz on 013-757-3380 or e-mail
