Pretoria - Efforts aimed at addressing and eradicating the bottlenecks that hinder women from participating in the mainstream economy are underway, says Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe.
Speaking at a Women Entrepreneurs Workshop, which was hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) in Gauteng on Thursday, Thabethe said her department was in the process of reviewing the National Strategic Framework on Women's Economic Empowerment to achieve this.
"This strategic framework will ensure that women-owned enterprises access economic opportunities, their specific economic needs are catered for, and are supported to assist them to grow. Issues of access to technology features prominently in the strategy and will be addressed accordingly," she pointed out.
Entrepreneurship not only impacted positively on the country's economy, but also improved the social well-being of the country's citizens, the deputy minister noted.
"It is encouraging to see more and more women taking up the challenge of using technology in their businesses. We recognise their hard work and determination to contribute towards the fuelling of economic growth and the target of creating five millions jobs by 2020," Thabethe said.
The purpose of the workshop, which was attended by more than 600 businesswomen from across the country, was to share knowledge and information on the use of technology to create sustainable enterprises, and entrepreneurial support for small enterprises.
Virginia Morule, director of Agro Tractor House, a small company based in Benoni, said the workshop was a good concept and provided women entrepreneurs with the opportunity to share ideas and information on various aspects of their business, including challenges and inspiring achievements.
"As a small company we appreciate these kinds of initiatives and we encourage other women to attend them for information-sharing and networking. They should be coordinated regularly to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among businesswomen," she said. - SAnews.gov.za
