Minister of Small Business Development, Ms. Lindiwe Zulu, will on Friday, 26 August 2016, host women in small businesses as part of the Women’s Month programme. Friday’s event is a business and knowledge sharing engagement which seeks to address challenges female entrepreneurs face, while inspiring and bringing key institutions of government, and private sector closer to female entrepreneurs.

During the same occasion, Minister Zulu will launch the publication: Exploring the finance pipeline for women-owned SMMEs in South Africa. The publication contains a report of a study commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2012 in partnership with the Department of Small Business Development. The purpose of the study was to look at the financing pipeline for women-owned SMMEs and to investigate problems underlying access to finance despite there being an array of financial institutions and funding vehicles in South Africa. The study was also aimed at assessing current financial mechanisms in order to provide recommendations for an alternative approach to financing women owned SMME South Africa.

Members of the media are invited to this event which will be held as follows:

DATE   :    FRIDAY, 26 AUGUST 2016
TIME    :    8:30
VENUE:    DTI CAMPUS, INTERNAL STREET

The department believes that Friday’s event provides an opportunity for women in business to gain knowledge, share insights and lobby for extended market access. The department also hopes to use this event to celebrate women achievers in business and to highlight progress on women economic empowerment in the last twenty-two years.

Enquiries:

Cornelius Monama
Department of Small Business Development
(060 960 3158; CMonama@dsbd.gov.za)

Christina Nyambalo (United Nations Development Programme)
Tel: 0636970544; christina.nyambalo@undp.org