South Africa’s women have opened doors into Parliament, universities, boardrooms and industries once closed to them. Now, says Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, it is time for the next great leap: from participation to real ownership, wealth creation and economic power.
Addressing the Ascend Her Business Conference in Sandton on Friday, Letsike celebrated the significant progress the country has made in opening spaces for women, while setting out an ambitious vision for what comes next.
“For me, the next stage of women’s economic emancipation must be about moving from participation to power,” Letsike said.
From earning to owning
Letsike argued that true empowerment means looking beyond what women earn to what women own. A woman can register a company but struggle to obtain capital, she noted; she can win a contract but not own the equipment required to deliver it, or distribute somebody else’s products without ever becoming a producer herself.
“Real economic transformation must therefore concern itself not only with what women earn, but increasingly with what women own,” she said.
She pointed to a proud heritage to build on. African women have long demonstrated entrepreneurship and resilience, trading, farming, organising stokvels and cooperatives, and creating livelihoods in tough circumstances. The task now is to match that ambition with an economy that creates meaningful opportunities for growth and ownership, including access to finance, land, procurement opportunities and the networks where big economic decisions are made.
Building the future, not just entering it
The Deputy Minister was especially upbeat about the opportunities in new industries. Artificial intelligence, renewable energy, financial technology and digital commerce are already reshaping the economy, and she wants South African women at the forefront of all of them.
“We need women building technology, owning intellectual property, manufacturing, investing and creating enterprises that can compete across our continent. The future cannot simply be something that African women enter after somebody else has built it. African women must be among those who build it,” she said.
Her ambition for entrepreneurs is bold and clear: “At some point, the subcontractor must become the principal contractor. The distributor must become the manufacturer.”
Sisterhood as economic infrastructure
Letsike called on government, the private sector, development finance institutions and entrepreneurs to create the conditions for women-owned businesses to flourish, with access to capital, markets and opportunities. And she urged successful women to lift as they rise, by buying from women-owned businesses, sharing opportunities, making introductions and opening doors.
“Perhaps, then, the next evolution of women’s solidarity is that our solidarity must become economic infrastructure,” she said.
Her parting message to the Ascend Her graduates captured the spirit of Women’s Month perfectly: build profitable businesses, own assets, create wealth, and use that success to create opportunities for others. If that vision takes hold, the next generation of South African women will not just work in the economy. They will own it.
Remarks reported by SAnews.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Leave a Reply