Johannesburg - Women and youth lauded the high-level master class on investment and export readiness under AfCFTA, a training programme to effectively expand their business prospects.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) collaborated with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Organisation of Women in International Trade (OWIT), the AfCFTA Secretariat, the African Women & Youth Empowerment Group (AWYEG), and the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) to organise the investment and export readiness immersion programme for over 40 women- and youth-run and led businesses.
The three-day master class programme, held in Cape Town, provided women and youth-owned businesses with the information they needed to take advantage of the new intra-regional opportunities provided by the free trade area.
It guided business owners to attract tailored finance and investment as well as establish business linkages to meet the scale and standard of the continental market.
South African wine producer and D’Licacy CEO Dimakatso Malwela said the master class opened her to ideas on how to attract tailored finance and investment.
‘’I am really happy that the master class series was held in South Africa, and being part of it has richly enriched my ideas for taking my business forward. For instance, the session on rules of origin gave me valuable insight on what it takes to get our products certified. As a wine producer, I work in a highly regulated industry, and such knowledge is power,’’ she said.
Malwela, whose company produces and houses no-alcoholic and de-alcoholised wine brands from Cape Town and Johannesburg, said the master class series was the perfect starting block for taking advantage of opportunities under the AfCFTA.
Mechi Amaah, the founder of Black’n Natural Cosmetics, manufactures vegan cosmetics for skin and hair in Cameroon, described the master class as a ‘’welcome game changer’’ for her business.
‘’The sessions held during the three-day workshop were eye-opening and very educational. I return home to my business, better equipped to take my business forward. All the sessions were extremely useful, but the one on financial readiness really caught my attention. I have a clearer view of how to source finance for equity and how I will insure my products when I start exporting,’’ she said.
Amaah also underscored how pitching for business has been an integral part of her operations.
‘’I am really thrilled that there was a session on this. I already had a plan in place, but the master class has helped me identify the loopholes in my initial pitch. I have already used the knowledge from the master class to upgrade my business pitch plan,’’ she said.
Shirleen Wangari, the CEO of Blackwell Films in Kenya, also lauded the master class as educational.
‘’The master class was an absolutely enriching experience. I came to Cape Town to learn more about how to grow my business and seize the massive opportunities that the AfCFTA presents. I am happy to have learned a lot. I can now do a bankable pitch in under two minutes. Before I came here, I used to talk for over 15 minutes trying to pitch my business! Those pitches were simply too long, and possible investors would lose interest halfway,’’ said Wangari.
The Star