Ndabeni hands R1 million in equipment to 60 eThekwini women-owned businesses

Sixty women-owned businesses in eThekwini have received about R1 million worth of productive equipment, handed over on Monday at a symposium in the metro that brought entrepreneurs, government and business experts into one room.

The equipment went to businesses across sectors, chosen for what each one does. A beauty salon got salon equipment. Others received the tools and machines their operations run on. The point is not the asset itself but what it lets the owner do next: take on more work, meet demand she was previously turning away, and pay somebody else.

The handover formed part of the Informal Micro Enterprises Development Programme, run by the Department of Small Business Development. The programme is designed to move small enterprises off a survival footing and onto something that can carry a wage bill and a growth plan.

Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni led the symposium, held under the theme “From Survival to Scale: Unlocking Growth for Women-Owned Enterprises”. She said the equipment is about capacity, not charity.

“Supporting women entrepreneurs with productive equipment is about more than providing an asset. It is about improving productivity, strengthening their ability to meet demand, create employment and build sustainable businesses,” Ndabeni said.

She added that when women have the tools to grow, they are better placed to take part in the economy, support their families and create opportunities in their communities.

The barriers the room was named to address

The symposium set out to deal with the constraints that keep women-owned firms small: access to finance, access to markets, access to business opportunities and networks, and access to productive assets. Those four items came up repeatedly because they are the ones that decide whether a business with a good product stays a one-person operation or becomes an employer.

eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba, giving the welcome address, said government has to build the conditions in which women-owned businesses can move past survival mode.

“Too many women-owned businesses remain trapped in a cycle of survival. Women possess the talent, resilience and drive, but continue to face barriers to finance, markets, productive assets and technology,” Xaba said.

He said the metro needs sustainable, scalable women-owned businesses in every sector, including the industries that have historically kept newcomers out.

What one beneficiary plans to do with it

Mandisa Gwexa, 27, from Mariannhill, was among the beneficiaries at Monday’s gathering. She runs a beauty salon called Nailed It, and the equipment she received is meant to let her serve more clients.

Her business did not start on Monday. Gwexa began in 2021 with support from eThekwini Municipality, which gave her a first opening to build the salon. Monday’s handover came from national government, and she described the combination as the thing that made the next step possible.

“Today, receiving support through national government shows what is possible when interventions connect with entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey,” she said.

Gwexa said the equipment will help her grow the business and take on more clients, and she intends to pass on what she knows.

“I also want to use my experience and skills to train and empower other women with skills that can help them become economically independent,” she said.

The 60 businesses now hold equipment they did not have last week. What the programme is betting on is that the machines get used, the client lists grow, and the first hire comes soon after.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Investment to boost eThekwini women-owned businesses, https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/investment-boost-ethekwini-women-owned-businesses