Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeEmpower SAP&G South Africa 'Women Entrepreneurs Academy' 2022 a resounding success

P&G South Africa ‘Women Entrepreneurs Academy’ 2022 a resounding success

A cohort of 25 inspiring female business owners were selected for P&G Women Entrepreneurs Academy 2022, presented in Johannesburg, South Africa in partnership with WEConnect International. The capacity building program gave the participants direct access not only to Procter & Gamble senior leaders as they share their experience and best practices to support their business growth, but also to a wide range of distinguished leaders from the private and public sectors.

WEConnect International in South Africa held its annual P&G Women Entrepreneurs Academy 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa over a course of three days (30th of August, 2022 to 1st of September).

A cohort of 25 women business owners, who were selected for this unique capacity building program facilitated by the Procter & Gamble Africa team, attended the three-day event.

Procter & Gamble Africa has over the years demonstrated its commitment to Supplier Diversity and Inclusion by facilitating capacity-building modules for women entrepreneurs in the region.

To date, 117 women-owned businesses have successfully completed the Academy in South Africa since 2017.

#ClassOf2022 Graduates for Procter Gamble Women Entrepreneurs Academy.
To date, 117 inspiring women-owned businesses have successfully completed the Academy in South Africa since 2017. Lerato Makube (middle), founder and director of Eco Care waste management company, is among this year’s graduates.

The curriculum consisted of ten modules expanding in business development topics such as growth strategies, business operations, company branding, sales, communications and leadership skills, human resources and supplier relationship management.

These specialised sessions allowed the women to get a better understanding of the topics covered and encouraged great interactions with the facilitators.

Day 1: P&G SA head of marketing, Michael Simpson, taking #ClassOf2022 through the topic of brand value.

Opening the session on Day One of the Academy, Senior Vice-President & General Manager of P&G sub-Sahara Africa, Vilo Trska, engaged the women business owners on “Aligning and Executing Your
Business Strategy,” followed by Senior Brand Director, Head Of Marketing, Michael Simpson, who led an energetic session on “Brand Building”.

Both sessions allowed the women to get a better understanding of the topics covered and encouraged great interactions with the facilitators.

Day 2: P&G Sub-Saharan Africa director of purchasing, Otto Meyer, took women entrepreneurs through procurement processes key to a successful business.

On Day Two, Director of Purchasing for Sub-Saharan Africa, Otto Meyer, touched on the importance of the procurement processes for potential suppliers to large corporations and how these principles can be applied to SME businesses when using external suppliers. His discussion was followed by Laylah Kara, Senior Purchasing Manager, who spoke on P&G’s sustainability purchasing practices.

P&G sets a new ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040 across its operations and supply chain, from raw material to retailer. Finally, Uche Ajo, Senior Human Resource Manager, led the HR discussion with the women business owners on the importance of hiring the right people in their businesses which ultimately leads to the success of the goals of the business.

Procurement manager Sam Dheda (left), was among the P&G SA team facilitating the interactive grounp discussions.

Ending the three-day seminar, Customer Sales Director, Natalee Sukhnandan walked the women through the significance of customer experience by facilitating the final module on “Understanding and Reaching Your Customer” which was an amazingly interactive session.

The dynamic and energetic conversations with the facilitators and the women business owners to share learnings with each other were apparent throughout the course of the Academy.

To top off the seminar, the selected women entrepreneurs were encouraged to partake in a “Elevator Pitch” to showcase their businesses. The Elevator Pitches were judged based on two categories: clarity and impression.

Three cash prize winners

The top three Finalists won a cash prize of R15 000.

Congratulations in order: the top three finalists each won R15000 each for their stellar business pitches.

The top three finalists are as follows:

  • Rethabile Moabi from Rom Cleaning Service
  • Marie Sebueng from IAMS Powerhouse Consulting
  • Rosharon Morgan from GM Boiler and Steam Engineering

Thereafter, the finalists will compete for the ultimate prize of R100 000.


Watch P&G #WEConnect 2022 Women Empowerment and graduation ceremony highlights in the video below !


Tankiso Komane
Tankiso Komane
A Tshwane University of Technology journalism graduate, Tankiso Komane has a vast experience in print & broadcast media business and has worked for some of the country’s biggest daily newspapers, including The Sowetan, The Citizen, The Times, and The New Age. Through her varied work as a journalist, notably as a copywriter for SABC1 (On-Air promotions) and as a publicist for Onyx Communications, she has developed an in-depth understanding of the nature of the media business and how to use it for the purpose of exposure. Her expertise in journalism across various disciplines, coupled with a good reputation, has laid the foundation of a new kind "trust in Journalism" as the media ecosystem continues to digitally evolve.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -

Most Popular

Recent Comments