In a prestigious gathering at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead on March 8, entrepreneurs and professionals celebrated the achievements of women from various walks of life on International Women’s Day.
The event, hosted by the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, aimed to shine a spotlight on the invaluable contributions of women to society.
Among the honourees was Boskruin resident Lisa Illingsworth, a trailblazing entrepreneur whose work in entrepreneurial education has transformed the lives of young people across South Africa.
Reflecting on her journey into entrepreneurial education, Illingsworth explained that she started as a business studies teacher. “Business studies should give kids a foundation on how to start and run businesses but unfortunately, what is in the textbook is so outdated that it does more damage to the foundation of business principles for young people than it does setting them up for success.”
She explained that she had learned this the hard way when trying to start her own business. “I found myself having to start a business to earn an income. During all the lessons I learned in starting my first business, I realised that what is being taught in school is not of value to an entrepreneur and I wanted to rectify that.”
Shortly after that, Futureproof SA was born. “The first version of Futureproof started in 2015 with a focus on shifting the early entrepreneurial education introduction for the youth into something that would be of benefit to them and undo what is being taught in business studies at the moment.”
She emphasised the impact of her work on the future generation, stating, “The world at the moment is unpredictable and chaotic and the foundations of entrepreneurial education lie in creating value out of chaos. Apart from the economic situation in South Africa, people need to be able to solve problems and create an income from solving those problems.”
As a single mother, Lisa’s journey serves as a testament to the spirit of women in the face of adversity. While speaking at the event, she expressed pride in her role as a mother, emphasising the significance of her achievements for her two daughters. “I’m mostly very proud to be able to stand up here as a single mom and say to my two girls, ‘Look, your mom did it’,” she said.
“Women in particular are faced with a scarcity of time, capacity and support when they are in their entrepreneurial journey. We are often expected to fulfil multiple roles at the same degree of complexity and success. We are expected to be mothers, leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs and we are expected to be very good at that.”
However, she still believes that young women should consider becoming entrepreneurs. “I think the misconception is that entrepreneurship is the fallback option when nothing else is working. Entrepreneurship is a viable and less risky choice than everyone thinks it is. You have more control over your future and the direction that you take. This has a higher degree of fulfilment than if you were building someone else’s dreams.”
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