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South Africa boasts an extensive and evolving policy framework aimed at advancing women\u2019s participation in the economy. From preferential procurement legislation to financial inclusion strategies and national entrepreneurship development plans, government has taken steps to embed gender equity across sectors. Institutions like the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the National Empowerment Fund, and the Department of Small Business Development have made provisions intended to increase access to funding, markets, and entrepreneurial support for women.<\/p>\n
In practice, these efforts are reflected in a number of targeted programmes and policies. South African government has committed to allocating 40% of public procurement opportunities to women-owned businesses. Agencies such as the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) provide tailored financial and non-financial support to women-led SMMEs, while the Women Empowerment Fund – managed by the NEF – offers funding between R250,000 and R75 million specifically for Black women-owned enterprises. Initiatives such as the Women in Technology and Innovation Programme (led by the Technology Innovation Agency) also aim to address sector-specific barriers. Overarching all of this is the National Policy Framework for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, which guides the integration of gender equity across government efforts. These programmes reflect a strong policy commitment to advancing economic equity and inclusive growth.<\/p>\n
Yet, as many entrepreneurs will tell you, the experience on the ground often tells a different story -one where good intentions collide with slow delivery, outdated systems, and power structures that keep women at the margins of opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must bridge the information gap between finance and SMMEs to unlock access for women entrepreneurs,\u201d says Shiphra Chisha, Director of Programmes at the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about access. It\u2019s about comfort, safety, and respect – these should be part of the performance metrics for how financial institutions operate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drawing on the Trust\u2019s recent research with DNA Economics and reflections from the G20 Financial Inclusion forum, Chisha laid out a compelling case for what must change:<\/p>\n
These issues were at the heart of the Multi-Stakeholder Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship Development in South Africa <\/strong>event held earlier this year, hosted by the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust. The dialogue brought together entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers and regional leaders to unpack how to make policy work better for women – particularly in informal, rural, and marginalised economies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is crucial to understand the challenges that SMEs (especially those owned by women) face at a much granular level,\u201d says Teboho Bosiu, researcher at the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) at the University of Johannesburg. \u201cThe underlying causes of these challenges should also be properly understood.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bridging the policy gap: from theory to tangible change<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most urgent tasks ahead is to bridge the policy-practice gap by reimagining how policy is crafted and implemented – not as a top-down process, but one that is driven by evidence, grounded in real conditions, and informed by the people most impacted.<\/p>\n Bosiu explains that many challenges women entrepreneurs face are not isolated; they are systemic and often interlinked. \u201cFor instance, challenges with access to markets often reinforce challenges with access to finance, and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n This was echoed by Manini Mbongwa, a construction entrepreneur, who described the compliance-heavy realities of her sector. \u201cTo scale, you need to upgrade your CIDB grading – but that means having completed a project of a certain value. Without opportunities to subcontract or access projects, you\u2019re stuck in the lowest tier.\u201d Financial constraints, mentorship gaps, and limited access to funding continue to leave women behind.<\/p>\n Chisha reaffirmed that the issue isn\u2019t the absence of policy – but rather its implementation. \u201cPolicy reform must come from the top,\u201d she noted, \u201cbut it must be shaped by those navigating the realities at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n She also shared GMT\u2019s broader efforts through the Women Creating Wealth (WCW) programme and Afrishela, a pioneering investment platform for early-stage, women-led businesses. \u201cAfrishela has played a crucial role in building market access and increasing access to finance,\u201d Chisha said. \u201cIt ensures women entrepreneurs are not only visible but viable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEntrepreneurship skills are foundational – and agri-value chains can drive food security and market access across the region,\u201d added Caroline Komey, Senior Programme Officer of Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust. She emphasised the importance of building grassroots capacity through platforms like Afrishela and leveraging value chains that not only build business resilience but also improve regional food systems.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Power, exclusion, and the \u201cold boys clubs\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, policy misalignment is only part of the story. The other side is structural: women are often locked out of the very industries where opportunity lies – not just due to lack of access, but because of entrenched monopolies, power asymmetries, and informal gatekeeping mechanisms that function outside formal policy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is mainly our competition law and policy that seek to prevent abuse of power by dominant firms and promote inclusion of SMEs,\u201d says Bosiu. \u201cHowever, these processes tend to be quite legalistic and are based on post-harm conduct that only gets investigated if there is a formal complaint from the affected SME.\u201d<\/p>\n But many SMEs are hesitant to lodge complaints for fear of retaliation – especially when they are dependent on large firms for resources, inputs, or market access. \u201cLarge and powerful firms typically have control\/influence over the value chains, and SMEs rely on them,\u201d he explains. \u201cHence SMEs tend to tread cautiously to avoid being seen as troublesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Bosiu also pointed to the pervasive influence of exclusive informal networks. \u201cCompetition law and policy cannot police and dictate who the \u2018old boys\u2019 should associate with, due to the obvious freedom of association enshrined in our constitution. That means other policies need to be explored – perhaps through innovative regulation leveraging on the power of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n Among his proposed reforms:<\/p>\n Mbongwa echoed this sentiment, calling for more equitable structures and peer support: \u201cWhen women organise and speak as a collective, it\u2019s harder to ignore us. A united voice makes it easier to push for change and get traction with policymakers.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Building capacity and catalysing investment<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to Afrishela and WCW, Chisha highlighted how the Trust has leveraged its networks – like New Faces New Voices South Africa (NFNV SA) – to push for gender transformation in the financial sector. \u201cWe are building a community of practice to make financial policy accessible and relevant to women at all levels,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n NFNV, established in 2009 by Mrs. Machel, works to:<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that women are an under-utilised resource, and investing in them can accelerate economic growth across the continent,\u201d Chisha said.<\/p>\n This reflects the broader goals of the Trust to not only support individual entrepreneurs but also reform the operating environment in which they work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Data, visibility, and grounded policy<\/strong><\/p>\n Another theme that emerged from the dialogue was the importance of data\u2014not just in volume, but in value. \u201cThere is a need for data presented in a comprehensible and accessible manner,\u201d Bosiu explained, \u201cespecially to understand power dynamics in supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n Christine Muyama, Advocacy Officer of Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust, noted how policy gaps become wider for rural women navigating informal land tenure, weak access to justice, and limited access to development finance. \u201cWe must break structural barriers,\u201d she said. And to do so, we need to ensure these women are not invisible to policy and financing instruments.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Localising the vision for change<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe first step is opening real communication with entrepreneurs in rural areas and townships,\u201d Mbongwa added. \u201cOtherwise, these discussions remain high-level and out of reach.\u201d<\/p>\n She also pointed out that many women in construction don\u2019t even know where to begin. \u201cStart-ups often don\u2019t understand what needs to be done to stay compliant, and hiring consultants costs money,\u201d she said. \u201cFunding requirements make it almost impossible for women to be considered. We need training, mentorship, and gender-sensitive financing models that actually reflect how women do business.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conclusion: a ground-up vision<\/strong><\/p>\n What emerges from these insights is a clear imperative: entrepreneurship development policies must be radically re-centred around the lived realities of women entrepreneurs. This demands investment in ground-up research, the rethinking of regulatory levers, and the democratisation of data and opportunity.<\/p>\n As Mbongwa reflects, \u201cIt\u2019s only when policy is implemented and monitored that we\u2019ll see real change on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n If we want to unlock the full potential of women entrepreneurs in South Africa, we must build from the ground up – not just in rhetoric, but in every system designed to support them.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South Africa boasts an extensive and evolving policy framework aimed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_rtcl_gb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[742,4,81,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-featured","category-highlight","category-womens-economic-and-social-advancement-highlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-09-at-14.57.07.png\")
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