Dear Member
The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC invites you to attend its Women in Business Working Group meeting on 27 August 2026 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Nedbank Parksquare (The Auditorium 1st Floor).
Presentation summary:
The engagement launches the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Women in Business Compact as a practical, partnership-driven platform for integrating women more intentionally into the economy. It presents the socio-economic case for investing in women-led enterprises and acknowledges the structural barriers that continue to restrict access to finance, markets, infrastructure, procurement opportunities, technology, trade, and business support.
The session positions the KwaZulu-Natal Women’s Advancement Fund as the beginning of this work, highlighting the partnership with Absa and the lessons drawn from more than 2,700 women entrepreneurs across the province. It explains the Compact’s integrated ecosystem, including WAF funding pathways, the Enterprise and Supplier Development platform, the Retail Collective, mentorship, the economy of care, infrastructure equity, trade facilitation, aggregation, and the Pan-African Trade House concept.
A central message is that production must be matched with demand, offtake, finance, logistics, market access, and the capacity to scale. The session therefore outlines actionable pathways through the Chamber’s network of buyers, corporates, financial institutions, shipping and trade partners, skills providers, mentors, and regulatory support services.
It invites partners to help build ecosystems that care, reflect the lived realities of women in business, enable sustainable growth, and outlive the current generation of leaders.
Presenter for the session:
– Nomonde Dinizulu Shezi, Lead of the Durban Chamber’s Women in Business Working Group, Managing Director of HumanInsights Africa, and Secretariat of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance South Africa.
Date: 27 August 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Venue: Nedbank Parksquare (The Auditorium 1st Floor)
For further information, please contact Shezay Govender on GovenderS@durbanchamber.co.za
