Building Entrepreneurial Capability of Women

The day care centres are located in an informal settlement (where people live in shacks) or in a very poor neighbourhood. These communities are all characterised by high unemployment (80%), Aids, women and child abuse, fragile or non-existing family structures (because both parents passed away). This leaves children very vulnerable, not only for abuse, but also for early school drop-out, teenage pregnancy, and a life without hope and aspirations.

This makes the day care programs so valuable: they provide feeding schemes, a pre-school program, home work support, time and space to play, and social-emotional support. In addition staff maintains contact with the family or caregivers: they do home visits, provide practical support (such as applying for an ID or child support grant), and support around Aids and taking medication, dealing with loss and child rearing issues.

With an increasingly corrupt government is is difficult to get access to proper land and needed funding.

Current status

SEEtrust SA/NL Women Network started in January 2010. It has been an important year: a year of laying the foundations, of partnership-building and of learning. In 2011 we want to continue to invest in SA-NL partnerships and while the monthly networkmeetings in Johannesburg have been very valuable, we want to intensify one-on-one collaboration and business/personal skills training for the women in South Africa.

SEEtrust SA/NL Women Network is part of SEEtrust. SEEtrust is a private Dutch-South African initiative (2007), focusing on joining forces with entrepreneurial people from informal settlements who have started programs which contribute to the well being of their communities. The purpose of the partnership is to turn these initiatives into robust social enterprises: enterprises which are there to stay because they are financially self-sustaining.

The project has been made possible because of the private investments of SEEtrust partners and the partnership with Impulsis.

Increasing entrepreneurial capability through business skills training, a peer support network and one-on-one collaboration and coaching. Our first year has taught us how important these three ingredients are in building structural capability: building personal ability, building parnerships, and building proper facilities. In 2011 new partners to help us accomplish this, will be the University of Pretoria and the Chamber of Commerce Roodepoort.

We invest in women. They do the rest. The intent of the SEEtrust SA/NL Network is to invite and support women to give of their talent in developing and shaping society. At this moment we create this possibility by inviting women from the Netherlands to join forces as supporting partners with women from the townships in Johannesburg, who have started day care centres for the very vulnerable.

Moving beyond charity: partnerships based on equality, reciprocity and personal relationships. The Dutch/South African partnership is a partnership based on mutual respect and based on an open mind and an interest in learning from each other. The partnership is also a necessity: it connects entrepreneurial ability and local know-how together with financial resources and a network of expertise and decision making power.

Learning while doing: our interest in research. As SEEtrust we invest in partnerships with universities, to connect doing and learning. We want to understand what it takes to grow entrepreneurial ability and how partnerships can contribute to that (including learning about the stumbling blocks along the way). One important research paper in this regard was published in October 2010: 'Fostering the growth of social entrepreneurship' and was presented at the Business School of Wits University.

The goal of the project is to build the entrepreneurial capability of the women involved and ensure access to good facilities build on legal land, so they can continue providing services to the current 800 children, increasing capability to at least 1200 children. Secondly, to start and grow income-generating activities (bakery, sewing, other) as an income resource for the day care, and as a way to create employment, empowering women and mothers living in the informal settlements.

Goals

• Proper day care facilities on legal land (for 6 day cares)
• Education on financial mngt, marketing, fundraising (6-8 w)
• Coaching to build self confidence & leadership (6-8 women)
• Partnerships with local + Dutch people (6-8 women)
• Access to internet, email, skype (4-6 locations)

The focus of the SEEtrust partnership is to provide a support/learning infrastructure and to ensure that each entrepreneur has access to good facilities on legal ground. This has turned out to be key in attracting government subsidy, in having persons or organisations commit to sponsorship and in receiving structural donations.

The example of Susan Rammekwa goes to prove this point. SEEtrust partnered with Susan Rammekwa, who had started a day care in Princess Informal Settlement (Roodepoort) in 2007, when she was looking after 70 children. Through the partnership - in which SEEtrust ensured good facilities on legal ground through private investments and used her network to link Susan with new partners - her program took a leap. In September 2010 her program is looking after 250 children, her staff has increased from 10 to 27, she has been receiving many awards and many new donors/sponsors, and income generating activities have been initiated: a bakery, a sewing atelier, beading workshop, a vegetable garden. Due to Susan's entrepreneurial savvy and the SEEtrust partnership, Tshepang has become a flourishing social organisation, able to continue to create sufficient funds and attract new sponsors, no longer dependent on the active involvement of SEEtrust.