Taking women into the mines

In 2010 WIPHOLD and Mining Women Investments (MWI) acquired an effective 10.2 percent stake in Sasol Mining, South Africa’s fourth largest coal producer, as another way of drawing black women into the economic mainstream.

Today MWI comprises 3 500 black women drawn from the areas in which Sasol Mining has operations and coal reserves. Drawn from the Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo they were able to participate in a BEE transaction for the first time.

Gugu Dingaan, a WIPHOLD Investment executive explains, ‘’When WIPHOLD and Sasol Mining conceptualised the transaction it was important that it should in every respect personify the true spirit of broad-based black economic empowerment. It was in this context that we created MWI. This continued our founding ethos of creating ways to bring black women into the economic mainstream, to make women our business.’’

Chief executive, Louisa Mojela and her team created the mining investment company in much the same way WIPHOLD was introduced during the 1995 roadshows. The team held workshops with women in the Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, explaining their broad-based vision to incorporate women into the mining industry.

The participation of MWI in the Sasol Mining Transaction was then facilitated by WIPHOLD. ‘’These were women who on their own would not have had the financial resources to participate in the deal,’’ says Dingaan. ‘’Today, however, they and their communities are benefitting from one of the largest contributing sectors to the economy as empowered shareholders.’’

To date, dividend distributions to MWI total just over R21 million.