Late last year the Road to Finance programme for SA women entrepreneurs was launched by the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) Entrepreneurship Development Academy, together with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Twenty-eight top-performing alumni from the partnership’s previous education programmes have been selected to participate in the SA pilot initiative, which aims to plug the gaps in their financial knowledge. Participants will gain expertise in financing options, preparing financial documents, pitching their business to potential investors and negotiating terms with financiers.
This development reflects a broader trend: a steady rise in specialised offerings – executive courses, seminars and postgraduate degrees and diplomas – aimed at sharpening the skills of women already running their own businesses or in corporate leadership positions. Yet, this focus on the top tier highlights a lingering gap. While such programmes cater effectively to established professionals, less attention is given to encouraging younger SA women to pursue business careers from the outset or equipping those who already run informal businesses with the tools they need to formalise and expand.
Women account for nearly 22% of SA’s business owners, according to a 2023 Public Investment Report, a figure that highlights the enormous untapped potential of women to grow the economy.
That potential, however, is hemmed in by seemingly intractable obstacles.
‘In a resource-constraint environment like South Africa, [limited] financial resources would be the most important challenge,’ says Caren Scheepers, a professor at GIBS.‘Furthermore, gender roles in society expect women to care for others and men to lead in business. These expectations have a negative influence on the self-identity of women and what they expect of themselves. The more women role models in society rise to the top in business, the more women see themselves as having the potential to be top performers.’
This observation points to a more elusive impediment – psychological barriers. Beyond financial constraints and societal expectations, deeply ingrained beliefs about capability and belonging shape women’s confidence in business spaces.
‘While there are a number of factors that prevent women from accessing business education in South Africa, confidence stands out in my mind as an overarching reason,’ says Catherine Duggan, director of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Graduate School of Business (GSB).
‘At the most fundamental level, even those who have been quite successful often feel they are not ready for a postgraduate business programme. They may feel intimidated by certain subjects, or nervous about public speaking or writing papers, and they may even feel worried about the very act of sitting in a classroom again, especially if it has been some years or decades since their last degree.
‘Women may also feel uncomfortable about approaching their employers for sponsorship – or even approved leave – for business pro-grammes, even if they do feel confident they would be able to succeed in the programme.’
These issues, says Duggan, mirror decades of academic work into the ways women sometimes hold themselves back from taking professional opportunities. For example, a substantial amount of academic research has shown that women often avoid applying for roles unless they meet every requirement in a job advertisement – particularly when looking at more senior, executive-level roles. Since men are more likely to take risks when applying for jobs, this phenomenon contributes to the gender imbalance hiring committees face in their candidate pools, particularly for senior roles. Similarly, the discomfort women often feel about asking for sponsorship for a programme is consistent with academic research that has shown how women are less likely to negotiate salary and benefits than their male peers.
‘It is important to note that these issues do not only apply to women, but it is clear there are a number of social and cultural reasons women in countries around the world often feel uncomfortable taking some of the risks that are most associated with professional advancement – and that is certainly something we see in South Africa,’ says Duggan.
There’s a bit of cruel irony here because one of the most important things business education does is increase people’s confidence.
‘That is always one of the first things UCT GSB graduates tell me: how transformational our programmes are and how much being at the UCT GSB helped them see what they were capable of. I hear similar things from companies and employers, who tell me they see new skills and leadership development in their employees who have gone through our programmes.’
This brings us back to a fundamental paradox: business education is a powerful tool for building the confidence women need to advance in business, yet a lack of confidence often deters them from seeking that very education.
Are SA business schools doing anything to address the gap between aspiration and access? While executive programmes and postgraduate degrees have proliferated, they largely cater to those who have already established themselves in the corporate world. The real challenge lies in reaching women earlier – those hesitant to take the first step into business education or entrepreneurship due to psychological and structural barriers.
‘At GIBS, we apply for funding and we deliver several interventions customised for women’s unique needs which are then sponsored by, for example, the British Council, the Gates Foundation, GIZ, government departments, Setas [Sector Education and Training Authorities] and so on,’ says Scheepers.
‘We launched the Aspiring Women in Boards programme last year, and we also organised a mentoring process as part of the programme. Through our funders, for example, we offer girls and young women entrepreneurs workshops in townships on digital skills and artificial intelligence [AI] applications in business. We are supporting AI development in executive coaching, but it is in its early stages. However, we offer several online and hybrid programmes, and through technology, we are able to reach more women at a lower price.’
Most notably, in November 2024, GIBS announced a newly extended partnership with NPO Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development (YLED), which focuses on inspiring, enabling and equipping SA youth with entrepreneurial skills.
YLED’s 2024 cohort of 55 Grade 11 learners – of whom 67% were female – completed an intensive eight-month programme that included workshops, hands-on projects, community engagement and a Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, which saw participants develop and manage three successful mini-enterprises, collectively generating more than R260 000 in revenue.
Mentorship, of equal importance to skills development, is a powerful catalyst for women’s success, providing a visible path to leadership. When women see other women succeeding, it becomes a tangible affirmation that they too can overcome barriers and reach the same heights. Unfortunately, business mentors for women are in short supply.
At GSB, students are mentored by alumni in formal and informal ways, and several programmes offer coaching sessions by professional coaches.
‘The combination of mentorship and coaching is an extremely powerful one, particularly for anyone who aspires to leadership but struggles with self-doubt – a category that certainly includes many women,’ says Duggan. ‘Finally, our students often serve as mentors, including to young women and girls. Our MBA has a required service component, where students are challenged to work with community groups, NPOs and other organisations across South Africa and beyond.
‘A number of our students are also involved in mentoring girls, female entrepreneurs and women from all walks of life who are interested in business.’
Beyond mentoring, Duggan says the visibility of women winning prestigious awards and accolades is also critically important. In December, an all-female team of UCT GSB MBA graduates came first at the prestigious Geneva Challenge in Switzerland, beating 221 other teams from 94 countries with their innovative approach to combating teenage pregnancy and improving women’s health. In January, an alumna of the school’s MPhil in Inclusive Innovation was one of two highly commended finalists for the Postgraduate Leadership Award conferred by the global Association for MBAs, and in February, another all-female UCT GSB MBA team came third in the Case Competition World Cup, beating more than 100 teams from top international business schools.
‘Each time we celebrate these types of victories, women and girls of all ages and backgrounds tell me they are inspired by seeing women from South Africa and the continent excel on the global stage, which helps bring more women in this country into business education,’ says Duggan
Unlocking the reserve of entrepreneurial and corporate potential in SA’s women is not merely about gender equity; it’s an economic imperative.
As specialised programmes proliferate at the top tier, the real transformation will require reaching beyond established professionals to systematically cultivate female business talent from inception.
By Robyn Maclarty
Image: Gallo/Getty Images
