Businesses owned by women continue to be significant contributors to the livelihood of their communities. Hence, the UK Government funded TFSA continues to provide meaningful interventions to unlock export opportunities through partnerships with key Business Support Organisations (BSOs) such as the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). As one of South Africa’s oldest and most renowned BSOs, JCCI shares TFSA’s goal of promoting enterprise development, skills training, facilitating international trade and, most importantly, drive the agenda of women’s empowerment, to which JCCI has a dedicated Women’s Desk.
By joining forces, TFSA and JCCI have increased the number of export ready women-led or women-owned businesses through the TFSA Export Trade Training (ETT) programme. Anusha Gowriah, Director at Sandon DHW, is a recent graduate of the ETT programme facilitated by JCCI. Her company, which has been around for over 50 years, sources and supplies the industrial and educational sectors with a diverse range of products, equipment and services depending on the clients’ needs.
When describing how the training assisted her in boosting her export journey, Anusha said that “The first coaching session was incredible and that was just the beginning. The training enabled me to start thinking of growing the businesses in a broader sense than before. I believe that I can take on anything now.”
In conveying her words of encouragement to other women, she stated that, “Don’t limit yourself. You are not alone and you have so much more in you than you think. Take the leap and see what God can do through you.”
Since completing the TFSA Export Trade Training through JCCI, Anusha’s company managed to successfully fulfil two orders to Botswana, and, for the first time ever, registered to attend trade shows in Ghana and India, “something I would not have considered doing if it was not for the training at JCCI.” It is through success stories like Anusha’s that TFSA and its BSO partners stay motivated to reach more business women with export training to help them overcome non-tariff trade barriers and connect to global markets. Anusha was one of a total of 477 Southern African women entrepreneurs who graduated from TFSA’s 9-week ETT programme in 2022, now equipped with a roadmap to export success. But the story doesn’t stop here: In February 2023, another 150 women are on course to graduate from the current programme, with more planned for the rest of the year. If you want to see your company grow like Anusha’s and be part of this growing community of women in trade, learn more on https://www.tfsouthernafrica.org/women-in-trade/.
