Honouring resilient women in business

NOMINATIONS for the first virtual Businesswomen’s Association (BWA) Regional Businesswomen of the Year Awards are officially open.

And while the awards will not go ahead in the same format as in previous years because of the lockdown restrictions, the committee believes it is essential to salute persevering businesswomen who have weathered the Covid-19 storm.

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Under the theme ‘The Resilient Woman’, the virtual awards aims to acknowledge the innovative efforts made by local women to remain relevant in arguably one of the toughest years in business.

‘While 2020 was largely characterised by the hardships brought about by Covid-19, we also saw the resilient spirit of Zululanders. Many enterprises came up with diverse and creative offerings to survive,’ said BWA Zululand Chairperson, Ronelle Ramsamy.

‘We decided to go ahead with the virtual awards to inspire others to persevere and weather the Covid-19 storm. It is critically important that enterprises adapt their businesses to stay afloat during this pandemic, and more importantly bring about strategic changes to survive post Covid-19,’ said Ramsamy.

This year, BWA Zululand has added two new categories – Resilient Woman of the Year and the Leader of Tomorrow.

‘The aim of the Resilient Woman of the Year award is to salute the innovative and resourceful woman, who has gone beyond the conventional to come up with a strategic business offering during Covid-19 that ensured business sustainability and created employment.

‘The Leader of Tomorrow award identifies young girls not older than 18 years of age, who are making a difference in their sphere of influence and who have spearheaded projects that give back to their respective communities,’ said Ramsamy.

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The other six categories include Professional Woman of the Year, Corporate Woman of the Year, Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year, Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and the Women in Government Award.

Recognising excellence in the corporate, professional, government and social arena, the regional awards celebrates the phenomenal businesswomen who are making a difference in their communities and helping to grow the local economy.

Nominations for the regional awards close at the end of August, followed by final judging and the voting process.

The BWA is the largest association of business and professional women in South Africa.

For more information or to nominate a local outstanding woman, email zululand@bwasa.co.za

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