BKCOB hosts a seminar for women
Women meet to discuss various matters relating to business
Border-Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB) administrator Adre Bartis hosted a Women in Business workshop which aimed to equip upcoming entrepreneurs with knowledge on how to run profitable businesses in the midst of the challenges they faced.
The event was held at the Queens Casino Hotel last Wednesday when women entrepreneurs gathered to discuss issues they are faced with in their journey to become successful businesspeople.
Bartis indicated the idea of the event came about a year ago after a group of women said the chamber was not doing enough for women in business.
“I had to do some research and find a platform in which women could voice their frustrations and how they could overcome them. The chamber will host four such events in 2018. These platforms will have regular speakers, but will be interactive. It is not just for chamber members because the ultimate goal is to have a strong network of women in business who will support each other and each other’s businesses.
Bartis said the purpose of the event was to give women tools to make them less intimidated by their male counterparts and to know their worth in business. She said women needed to be able to work and support each other.
The women raised various issues they were faced with and what they needed assistance with in order for their businesses to thrive.
The women said they needed business acquaintances outside of Komani, experienced women in business to give talks about their own businesses, institutions that helped with expanding one’s business, how to move forward after having received financial support, how to juggle being a woman without feeling guilty about neglecting family time and transparency in the journey of entrepreneurs, among others.
Local business owner Babalwa Magqwanti spoke at length about the challenges she faced as a woman in business and said one of her greatest obstacles were the fear of failure and limited access to funding.
“With all the challenges that we face, I have come to understand the importance of building a strong network of other people in business and make them your support system during this journey. Our own families can be obstacles in that they have their own expectations of what they want us to become. Women really need to stand together like the men do and support each other so we can all grow and learn.”
Dr Lydia Jaceni, who specialises in naturopathic medicine, gave advice about how women could naturally relax their bodies without putting toxic substances into them. She said it was important for women, to take care of their bodies, which began with what they ate.
“It is important that we educate ourselves about the food we eat and what it does to our bodies so we do not eat foods that do not have any nutritional value. That starts with reading food labels and how one prepares meals, because you might be proud of eating vegetables which were incorrectly prepared.”
Jaceni also emphasised doing breathing exercises which she said were important, especially for people with anxiety problems.