In a recent report, it is estimated that over 55 000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will have to close their doors due the wide-reaching effects of the pandemic and lockdown. With South Africa’s struggling economy, SME sustainability is an important cog in the country’s recovery. Corporates can contribute meaningfully by transferring skills and funding to smaller businesses.
Programmes such as Sanlam’s Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme can have a deep impact on small business success. Nine female owned businesses are among the 26 entrepreneurs on Sanlam’s 2020 programme.
Nozizwe Vundla, head of Sanlam Foundation says, “Entrepreneurs are our game changers. Their success means South Africa’s success. While our ESD programme has been providing assistance to business owners for the last seven years, when we entered the COVID crisis, it quickly became clear that we needed to provide additional funding to help businesses to weather the storm.
“The group made an additional R2.1 million available to increase support during the pandemic. The funding will be applied to offer cash flow analysis and support, provide immediate funding relief and contribute towards the purchasing of personal protective equipment for the businesses.”
Vundla says given that there aren’t enough women owned SMEs in South Africa, Women’s Month is the perfect time for the Sanlam Foundation to take stock of the support that is offered to women entrepreneurs . Here four women currently on the programme share their insights on being a woman in business, as well as their experience of participating in the programme.
Michelle Page and Shireen Onia, from Service Gurus: Be Accountable
“To be a successful woman in business takes tenacity, passion and drive. The true building blocks to a successful business is mutual respect, trust and integrity amongst all stakeholders, and remember that you’re not alone so be open to learn and collaborate with other people who have a different skillset to yours.
“The Sanlam ESD programme has taught us a lot. We meet with our coach weekly, and without fail she calls on the hour, never a minute later. During our sessions, we ensure that we listen attentively and take down copious notes. We come out of the sessions feeling inspired by her motivation and advice. She makes it very clear that it’s our business and she is here to foster our growth. We’ve received mentor and specialist support to apply for, and attract over R700 000 in new contracts to sustain the business for at least six months. In addition, finance support from Sanlam has helped develop a Health and Safety training programme to assist other businesses during the pandemic and add to their own revenue.”
Renika Rungan, Accidental Panel & Paint: Create out-of-the-box solutions
“Collaborating with like-minded individuals and building relationships with women who have the same aspirations is vital. When you reach an obstacle in business, don’t give up! Look into the problem area and consult experts in your industry who can relate and provide their counselling. Remember this is your race to run, don’t be hard on yourself as this can have negative effects in the long run.
“The support we’ve received from the Sanlam ESD programme allowed us to attain new skills to accelerate the development of the business to be sustainable and successful. With the help of the coach, we’re able to apply creative and critical thinking to projects, which in turn has boosted our self-confidence and networking skills. Learning these key principles allowed us to embrace future risks and have strong strategic leadership abilities. We’ve received COVID-19 Emergency Grant assistance to help with working capital. In addition, Sanlam has injected R10 000 towards critical health, safety and environment (HSE) items to assist in doing business responsibly during the pandemic. To ensure preparedness for the pandemic, we’ve embarked on the COVID Readiness Project which puts us in a strong position.”
Fatima Slarmie, Xpress Body Works: See the bigger picture
“To be a successful woman in business you need to be open to change, exploring business possibilities and continuing to learn from others. Continue to be optimistic, take initiative, take responsibility and be resilient in everything.
“The guidance that I receive from my coach is immeasurable, impactful and allows me to understand my resources better. He encourages me to think strategically about my business, helps clarify my business goals and holds me accountable. With the help of my coach, I’m able to anticipate, confront and overcome some harsh realities and financial challenges. We’ve received COVID-19 Emergency Grant assistance to help with wages and to buy critical equipment to help mitigate against revenue losses from the pandemic. In addition, we’ve received R10 000 from Sanlam towards critical HSE items. As a result of COVID, revenues have gone down by 84% per month, but with the support we’ve received, revenues bounced back in July to provide us with a 76% growth on pre-COVID figures! We’ve also undergone the COVID Readiness Project that will put us a step ahead.”
Geethamala Dhanilal, Geet Building Projects: Change the way you look at business
“To be a successful woman in business, I would say you need to persevere. No matter the knocks you take, learn from the lesson and move on. Always have a mindset of growth and it will unlock great opportunities.
“The Sanlam ESD Programme is an opportunity, especially being a small business and being a woman who is facing many challenges and obstacles, to move forward and expand and grow and this is exactly what the programme provides. On joining the programme, I knew that the road to change would present challenges , but this is outweighed by the advantage to be gained from evolving as a company.. With the assistance received and the many hours put into my business, over the long term I now see the great benefits. We’ve received COVID-19 Emergency Grant assistance to help with working capital. In addition, Sanlam injected R10 000 towards critical HSE items and we went through the COVID Readiness Project to assist during the pandemic.”
