Rural growth through crafts
AFRICA!IGNITE HAS EMPOWERED HUNDREDS OF WOMEN TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMY BY SELLING THEIR WORK TO VARIOUS ENTREPRENEURS, WRITES
ASIZWE SISOKA
FRICA!IGNITE is home to a variety of fashionable hand-crafted products with vibrant colours and iconic designs that characterise the Zulu craft heritage.
Africa!ignite is a rural development agency that works across Kwazulunatal with a strong focus on women, youth and enterprise development. It creates partnerships with rural and marginalised communities to facilitate their fair participation in the economy and society.
Africa!ignite has been recognised as one of the KZN Exporter of the Year 2017 winners, their fourth win in the creative industry category of the same awards hosted by the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
The company was founded in 2004 by Wilna Botha, who is currently the chief executive officer of the company.
Speaking to Sunday Tribune Business Report, Margaret Gribble, the craft programme manager, said their work had expanded to over 6 000 schools in the province.
“We have always had a focus on rural enterprise development, initially setting up a rural distribution network with emerging distribution contractors, delivering supplementary materials to more than 6 000 schools across KZN,” she said.
Africa!ignite has been recognised as an Exporter of the Year for at least three times in the KZN Exporter of the year Awards. This year they got their fourth award. In 2012/2013 the company initiated working in the sustainable tourism sector and is supporting the development of responsible tourism initiatives across the province. The company will be working with other provinces from next year.
Currently Africa!ignite has a staff of about 20 people; however, they support and provide income through sales to a network of hundreds of rural craft and tourism entrepreneurs.
The shrinking South African retail sector was one of the challenges that Africa!ignite experienced this year.
“Seeing growth and development of confidence and resilience in the emerging craft and tourism enterprises that we support is very rewarding,” said Gribble.
Gribble said that Africa!ignite’s annual turnover had grown year on year until the past two years – where they stabilised at just short of R10 million annually.
Africa!ignite has the following programmes:
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
Craft – Capacity-building, technical support and market access for hundreds of women producers, so that they earn sustainable income from crafting.
Tourism – Helping community entrepreneurs on the doorstep of popular tourist destinations to benefit from tourist income.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Youth Action Desks – Youth change agents helping rural women and communities to protect their health.
Storytelling – Using powerful storytelling to promote reading, strengthen literacy skills and increase library membership.
Youth Development – Personal and skills development, as well as social networking of rural youth.
Africa!ignite has paid more than R16 million to rural entrepreneurs since 2008 and, in the past two year,s paid R2 million to rural women crafters. The company’s access to a unique footprint of 120 development nodes across Kwazulu-natal and its team’s extensive experience of working in rural areas over more than a decade has helped them establish leadership in rural development.
The company has also been recognised in these awards:
One Africa Award One of four finalists across Africa, 2015.
Global Best Award – For youth employment skills in Africa, 2016.
KZN Exporter of the year Awards in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
Commitment to Development Award – Ugu South Coast Tourism, 2016.
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