GEORGE NEWS - The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) hosted the annual International Women's Day event in George on Friday 8 March to celebrate the success of women in business and to find ways of addressing their challenges.
International Women's Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and acts as a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
The event was attended by many business women leaders across the region and Brenda Vorster, George Regional Airport manager, was one of the guest speakers. Under the theme 'Balance for Better', she said that we need to build a gender-balanced world. Everyone has a part to play - all the time, everywhere. "From grassroots activism to worldwide action, we are entering an exciting period of history where the world expects balance. We notice its absence and celebrate its presence," said Vorster.
A Thembalethu entrepreneur, Brenda Gxafana, also delivered a moving speech, encouraging businesswomen to not wait for opportunities but to take initiative. "Successful entrepreneurs don't wait for an opportunity to fall in their lap, they go out and make it happen," said Gxafana.
Gxafana owns two George-based businesses, the Glamour Corner Beauty Studio, and the Georgelicious (Pty) Ltd. The Glamour Corner Beauty Studio offers a variety of quality beauty services for her customers. She has been in the salon business since 2010.
Georgelicious (Pty) Ltd is a restaurant business that was registered in 2014, and started trading in 2018. Seda has assisted the two businesses with business plans for access to funding and promotional material.
Brenda Gxafana, a businesswoman from Thembalethu, encouraged women to take initiative in entrepreneurship.
The celebrations were preceded by the annual stakeholder engagement forum on the same day, where Seda reported to stakeholders on the 2017/18 financial year. The event was attended by the Garden Route District Municipality's deputy mayor, Councillor Rosina Ruiters, and the portfolio chairperson for strategic services, Councillor Erica Meyer.
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