Fourteen of Cape Town’s brightest women in business will be heading for Shanghai, China, next month to look for opportunities in Asia and to meet another 291 outstanding business women from 39 countries.
They will be attending the annual conference of the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) and an award ceremony. IWEC is a New York-based non-profit company with a mission to connect and develop a global network of successful women business owners.
The delegation will be led by Janine Myburgh, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and it includes seven women who have all won IWEC awards in previous years. Also in the party will be Jaqueline Naughton, owner of the BYC Group, who will receive an award this year.
The second Cape Town winner, Jill Bysshe, is recovering from a motor accident and will not be able to make the trip.
Myburgh said the IWEC conferences provided a wonderful opportunity for women to inspire each other, exchange ideas, build new business contacts and explore export markets.
"The women at the conference own businesses which generate a combined revenue of US$26.6 billion a year. I think these numbers tell us that we will be meeting some very dynamic people and we can expect great things to happen,” Myburgh said.
Also in the South African party are Denise Stubbs, of Thokozani Wines, and Judy Sunasky, of Blendwell Chemicals, who are likely to be future winners of the awards. They are both being mentored by previous winners to develop and grow their businesses. Only firms with an annual turnover of more than R20 million qualify for entry.
The conference takes place on the Shanghai campus of the China Europe International Business School from September 9 to 12.