The Western Cape Government is working hard to empower many more women through the numerous programmes, like the SMME Booster Fund, run through the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), which has a clear focus on women, as well as youth and township-based businesses.
As a part of celebrating the immense contribution women make to the economy and in recognition of the work that still needs to be done to empower many more women in business, Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, visited one of the beneficiaries of the 2022 SMME Booster Fund, WomHub in Cape Town.
Addressing female entrepreneurs at WomHub, Minister Wenger said, “The fact is that we need you to succeed because we know that SMMEs are the backbone of our economy and are responsible for up to 70% of jobs in South Africa. More than this, the research is clear on the positive impact of both women-owned businesses, as well ensuring gender parity in the workforce.”
“For example, statistics show that women-owned businesses present a lower risk for business financiers; and according to an article I recently read on Forbes, “research continually shows that gender diversity results in increased productivity, greater innovation, better decision-making, and higher employee retention and satisfaction.” So more than being fair and just, there is a clear economic case for enabling, supporting, and driving the participation of women in business and for owning businesses.” Minister Wenger continued.
WomHub, a South African company established in 2016 and which now has a global footprint, is a private women owned company that provides incubation and advisory services for women owned businesses in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Manufacturing) and provides holistic support to these businesses.
The partnership between the Department and WomHub aims to address some of the challenges confronting SMMEs, especially women-owned businesses, and has provided customised business development support to 28 women owned businesses.
Minister Wenger said, “We are thrilled to have partnered with WomHub to support 28 women-owned businesses through the Western Cape Economic Growth Amplifier, over this past year. We are also proud to have been a partner in establishing this world class innovation and co-working space, designed specifically for women, by women.”
DEDAT runs various programmes which focus on empowering women, especially through the SMME Booster as well as the skills programmes run in partnership with the private sector, with the majority of beneficiaries being women, in a bid to address some of the challenges they face, which include:
- Barriers to access to capital and markets
- Higher barriers to entry in business
- Working in male-dominated sectors, the glass ceiling, balancing work and private life
- Lack of female role models in the business sector
- Fewer business-orientated networks in their communities; and
- Culturally induced challenges.
“One thing I have come to learn about entrepreneurs and SMMEs and especially those run by women, is that, even in the face of challenges, your drive to push forward, to go further and to succeed, is second to none. At the end of the day, it is clear that if we want to do better and achieve the breakout economic growth we need to pull many more people out of poverty, we need to back SMMEs, and more specifically, back female owned and run SMMEs. This sentiment is at the heart of our economic action plan, Growth For Jobs’.”
“I’d like to thank you, for the work you do, for inspiring me with your tenacity and for the wonderful examples you are setting for other women and girls each and every day.” concluded Minister Wenger.
Cujo
3. to be injected with the AIDS virus for a slow death.
So the German said, \”Shoot me right in the head.\” Boom, he was dead instantly.
Then the Italian said, \”Just hang me.\” Snap! He was dead.
Then it was Van der Merwe turn , and he said, \”Give me some of that AIDS stuff.\”
They gave him the shot, and Van der Merwe fell down laughing. The guards looked at each other and wondered what was wrong with this guy.
Then Van der Merwe said, \”Give me another one of those shots,\”so the guards did. Now he was laughing so hard, tears rolled from his eyes and he doubled over.
Finally the warden said, \”What\’s wrong with you?\”
Van der Merwe replied, \”You guys are so stupid…..
I\’m wearing a condom.\”
Scare Stone
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”