PwC’s Faranani Rural Women Training Initiative promotes decent work opportunities, economic growth, and addresses inequalities in SA’s SME sector
Around 60% of jobs in South Africa are created by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to the latest data from the Small Enterprise Development Agency. A key contingent comprising the SME sector is women-owned businesses—many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
For many of these women, access to quality tertiary education is often hard to come by, placing them on an unequal footing compared to millions of others who graduate from university and go on to secure meaningful employment. At PwC South Africa, we are guided by our societal purpose, which involves using business skills, knowledge and the tools at our disposal to promote greater opportunity for all in the areas we are certain we can make a difference.
One PwC initiative that brings this to life is the Faranani Rural Women Training Initiative. This year, 198 women graduated from the course. Thulile Mbuyane and Thembelihle Ntshobane are among them. For Thulile, growing up with a business mindset was influenced by several family members who had small businesses.
“My uncle sold beverages when I was growing up. From a young age, I had understood the concept of a business and developed an interest in making my own money. On occasion, I would assist him, and this made me realise that I too could be my own boss one day.”
After completing school in Mamelodi, she enrolled at university but dropped out as finances were a constraint, and she was eager to start working. Thulile had gone on to have several jobs, and after the birth of her son she decided not to return to her employer.
“I needed to do something else after my maternity leave ended and thought it would be interesting to attend a local small business workshop. I found the first day so fascinating that I enrolled in the course. There, I was given some ingredients—sugar, ground ginger, cream of tartar and yeast. That was the day my business of making ginger beer began.”
In her initial days of selling her ginger beer, Thulile’s stock would sell out. Soon after, members in her community would pre-order their drinks. She grew her business slowly and accrued enough money to buy catering equipment worth R200,000, which expanded her business offering to food as well. However, in 2019, she tragically lost it all in a devastating fire.
“This broke me. Then COVID-19 happened and it all got worse.”
She has since slowly regained the pieces of her business, and enrolling in PwC’s Faranani training initiative has helped her do this.
“I needed to unlearn what I knew and relearn new strategies with a focus on business compliance. This course has helped me to increase my revenue by 20% every month consistently for the past three months, and today, my ginger beer is being sold in three flavours—lemon banana, pineapple and orange—at three big malls.”
Thembelihle’s road to becoming an entrepreneur was quite different. She spent most of her career working at some of the country's biggest telecommunications companies as a SAP consultant and IT and transmission engineer
“After enjoying a solid period of employment, I was unexpectedly retrenched in 2017 after the completion of a big project, and that was when my life changed.I couldn’t afford the repayments on my home and my car was repossessed. I then endured many years of struggling to provide and survive. Then, one day, I came across a large grocery retailer’s black economic empowerment project. They were offering Black people the opportunity to buy a store in the grocery chain. After several applications to purchase one, I was unsuccessful—but I refused to give up.”
The store was in need of pest control services and this was the start of Sithebo Enterprise, Thembelihle’s pest control company.
“It was a long, difficult start to learning about pest control, but with Google and perseverance, I somehow landed the contract,” she explains. “It was tough being a one-woman show to install pest control measures in the store because I was surrounded by men who constantly tried to undermine and intimidate me.”
Thembelihle says the Faranani course has not only helped her to improve her business and skills, but transform into being a business woman like the ones she once looked up to.
“I have received incredible support through Faranani and it is here that I learnt that there are people who want to help me and see me succeed."
Investing in women-owned SMEs
The name ‘Faranani’, means ‘working together’ or ‘teamwork. Through the programme, women are able to work together to foster meaningful connections that assist them beyond the course. In 2006, PwC joined forces with the Business Skills for South Africa (BSSA) foundation to launch the Faranani initiative. To date, 4,302 women across Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, North West, Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Free State and the Western Cape have graduated from the programme.
Through the programme, women are equipped with practical business skills that provide them with the necessary know-how to advance their informal businesses to SMME status.
“Our societal purpose strategy is aligned to seven of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Faranani training initiative helps support several of these SDGs, including providing quality education, promoting decent work and economic growth, gender equality, and helping to reduce inequalities.”
Beyond making a difference across these important areas, Machaba says it is also imperative that we realise that these women empower others who may be disadvantaged in their communities, and this helps to reduce poverty and improve people’s all-round living standards.
“Investment in these areas can furthermore open up new markets and customer bases, as these women may have unique insights into the needs and preferences of underserved communities."
The Faranani Rural Women Training Initiative enables us to bring Our Humanity to life. This is a strategy that we align to across Africa which reminds us that through our endeavours of solving important problems, we are only half the story—it is when we collaborate with our clients and communities, that we can make the biggest impact.
We are proud to share that more than 70% of women who have completed this programme have been able to increase profitability in their businesses, create sustainable jobs and contribute to the country’s economy. PwC remains committed to the upliftment of women in our country, and will continue building trust in society and solving important problems to make our country and continent an equal and prosperous environment for everyone.
*Annually, PwC annually contributes R1m to BSSA to facilitate the Faranani initiative training.
Explore the full report here
Africa Business Agenda: South Africa Perspective 2024
Contact us
Verena Koobair
Head of Communications and Societal Purpose Firm Pillar Lead, PwC South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 797 4873
