De Beers promotes, train rural women

De Beers Group and United Nations Entity for Women for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNW), in partnership with Blouberg and Musina municipalities recently hosted a series of trainer development workshops aimed to equip trainers to deliver capacity-building programmes to support women micro-entrepreneurs in Limpopo.
De Beers said in a media release that 17 local trainers have been provided with the appropriate skills to deliver training to the women entrepreneurs that will participate in the programme to help them build and sustain successful businesses in areas ranging from retail and catering to agriculture and manufacturing.
The workshops were designed to equip them to better understand the specific challenges faced by women micro-entrepreneurs, as well as to build access to peer support networks and ensure that the trainers can support the programme participants on an ongoing basis.
The training model programme is focused on providing participants with knowledge and skills in the areas of marketing, record keeping, stock management, costing and business planning. The ultimate objective is to enhance understanding of business concepts, including accessing markets, increasing market share, communication and negotiation skills.
Innocent Mabusela, Head of Corporate Affairs, De Beers Consolidated Mines, is quoted to have said: “At De Beers we pride ourselves in strategic partnerships that play a crucial role in supporting our local communities. The partnership with UN Women and the Blouberg and Musina municipalities is particularly close to our hearts because it speaks to commitment to supporting women and girls through skills development and job creation for the benefit of not only their own families, but their communities as well.”

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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