Keynote address by Hon. Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga, MP, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities- Official launch of Women’s Month 2026
Women in Trade Fair: Women-Owned Business Market Access Platform- Theme: “Empowered Women, Empower Nations” KwaZulu-Natal Province
Programme Director, and Acting Director-General — Dr Praveena Sukhraj-Ely;
Hon. Steve Letsike, MP — Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities;
Hon. Phumzile Sinclatia Mgcina — Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities;
His Worship, Mr Cyril Xaba — Executive Mayor of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality;
Ms Aleta Miller — Representative, UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO);
Captains of industry, financial institutions, and development finance partners;
Women entrepreneurs and business leaders exhibiting here today;
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Background and introduction
Programme Director, I am deeply honoured by the opportunity tojoin South African women from all walks of life — those in this room, and those at home across our nine provinces — as we mark the official launch of Women’s Month 2026 here in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
This morning, we gather as Imbokodo, united across generations in the struggle for equality, dignity and economic freedom. As we launch the 2026 Women's Month and commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of the historic 1956 Women's March, under the theme "Empowered Women, Empower Nations," we honour the women who transformed resistance into hope and courage into change. Their march was not only a challenge to oppression; it was a declaration that empowered women have the power to shape the destiny of nations.
Today, that historic journey continues through us. And as we stand here, seventy years later, the page of history opens before us.
I see them.
I see 20,000 resolute women ascending the terrace of the Union Buildings. I see 40,000 ;eyes;burning with purpose, fixed ;not ;on ;the
South Africa of their day, but on the South Africa of our dreams. Listen…I hear heartbeats thundering in magnificent silence, carrying the hopes of millions and a nation's future in their hands. I hear 40,000 footsteps echoing from South Africa, Africa and the globe. The stones of Pretoria bearing witness. The winds carrying a message from generation to generation – Enough! Enough of indignity. Enough of being told where to stand, where to walk, how to live and who to become.
With every step, they shook the pillars of oppression. With every stride, they redrew the boundaries of possibility. They marched as the authors of our liberation and freedom, the midwives of democracy, the first architects of a more equal South Africa and the custodians of a future they would never fully see but boldly chose to build. With every step, they planted seeds that would one day grow into constitutional rights, voting rights, economic rights, and the promise of equality itself. They became the rhythm of a nation's progress, echoing through every classroom, every boardroom, every parliament, every marketplace, and every enterprise led by women today.
And, seventy years later, the page turn,,, I see women here today, still walking in the footprints of their courage and the light of their vision. Bearing witness to the message of 1956, firmly affirming that their footsteps did not end at the Union Buildings; they continue to echo through every generation of South African women determined to rise, determined to lead, and determined to empower the nation.
And so today, when we gather as women in business, as entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and creators of wealth, we must recognize that we are not beginning a journey.
We are continuing one.
Therefore, as we commemorate the Platinum Jubilee, the question is no longer whether women can change the course of history. The women of 1956 settled that question forever. The question is whether we will be bold enough to build upon their legacy. Whether we will transform courage into capital. Whether we will convert resilience into enterprise. Whether we will turn empowerment into economic power.
The Launch of Women’s Month through the EMPOWER HER Trade;Fair sets the stage for the ;Women to respond decisively to the questions posedabove — as it places women-owned
businesses, both big and small, at the centre of a long-standing conversation on how women, and especially organised women, can go about taking control, management and ownership of the wealth-producing resources of our economy.
So, we gather this morning to insist that the economic empowerment programme of action has long passed sloganeering. It must now be visible — visible in markets, in finance, in procurement, in enterprise support, in digital inclusion, in policy reform, and in measurable follow-through.
At the centre of the Department I serve is our Government’s commitment to transform, empower, and transition vulnerable groups — of which women are the majority — into catalysts for socio-economic change. The DWYPD occupies the space informed by successive administrations’ recognition that, despite the presence of many line-function departments and their programmes, vulnerable groups require a dedicated catalyst to ensure they are not left behind.
Why this Trade Fair - Economic Empowerment as a catalyst
Programme Director, there is no better catalyst to economic emancipation than placing the power of economic decision-making in the hands of a constituency that has proven, time and again, that wealth in the hands of women is fundamentally about the empowerment of society and humanity as a whole.
We foreground women’s economic empowerment this morning because, despite significant progress over the past three decades, women-owned and women-led enterprises continue to face structural barriers that limit their ability to start, sustain, grow and compete. These barriers include limited access to markets and procurement, to finance and investment, to business development support, to technology, to information, to networks, and to supply chain opportunities.
Many women entrepreneurs operate in informal or small-scale markets, and struggle to transition into sustainable, commercially viable enterprises. There is a persistent gap between women-owned businesses and large corporations, between women-owned businesses and government procurement systems, and between women-owned businesses and mainstream markets — which results in limited market access, and insufficient participation in high-value sectors and supply chains.
Our Women in Trade Fair seeks to address this disconnect between women entrepreneurs and viable markets by creating a platform that connects women-owned businesses with buyers, investors, government, corporates, financial institutions, and ecosystem partners. Programme Director, we aim to move beyond showcasing products, towards actual commercial transactions, investment, procurement opportunities, business partnerships, and long-term market linkages.
As you connect amongst yourselves this morning, generational business deals will and must be struck amongst women. We need not wait for anyone’s permission, nor for anyone’s endorsement. That time has long passed.
The barriers we must confront
Programme Director, the women of 1956 did not march merely for political freedom. They marched for the entrepreneur who would for the young innovator who would create technology that changes lives. They marched for the farmer, the manufacturer, the exporter, the scientist, the executive and the leader. They marched for an economy in which women would not simply survive but thrive.
To thrive, we;must confront and address the limited market access faced by women-owned enterprises, including:
Low participation of women-owned businesses in government and corporate supply chains;
Limited access to finance and investment for enterprise growth;Fragmented business support and networking opportunities;
Low visibility and market exposure of women-owned products and services;
Difficulty transitioning from informal to formal and scalable business;
Limited access to technology, innovation, and digital markets;
Weak linkages between women entrepreneurs and large buyers, investors, and financiers;
Concentration of women-owned businesses in low-growth sectors, with limited participation in high-value industries; and
Insufficient conversion of policy commitments on women’s economic empowerment into measurable economic opportunities.
Our posture therefore departs from the premise that this Trade Fair is not merely an exhibition — it is an economic empowerment and market access intervention. It seeks to achieve visibility, market access, business deals, procurement, investment, enterprise growth, job creation, and economic empowerment.
This is a working platform. It is a space where we — as Government, the private sector, financial institutions, buyers, development partners, and women-owned enterprises — must move from feel-good intentions to holding each other accountable.
Four priorities of the trade fair
If it is not already clear, the central question before this Women in Trade Fair is straightforward: How do we ensure that women are not only present across markets, but positioned to own, produce, trade, scale and lead within them? At our 2025 inaugural EMPOWER HER Trade Fair held in Gauteng Province, we agreed on four critical connected priorities.
First, we agreed that we must set a clear national and institutional direction for women’s economic empowerment. And that task was delegated to the Women Economic Assembly to develop and present at our next WECONA Conference.
Second, we agreed to demonstrate public-private partnership support that goes beyond speeches and becomes practical commitments. We were to convene the Private Sector to present their empowerment baseline data scorecard which we will check our progress against on an annually basis.
Third, we agreed to open value-chain pathways through finance, procurement, buyers, markets, enterprise development, and digital tools. Through WECONA, we have engaged various sectors and industries to expand access to these value-chain pathways. This process is ongoing.
And most importantly, we agreed to place women-owned businesses at the centre of how domestic and regional economies are built and sustained.
That is why the exhibition floor, the business pitch sessions, the finance and development finance desks, the procurement and buyer discussions, the support clinics, and the commitment tracking are not side activities. They are the heart of this platform. The women who are trading, exhibiting, pitching and engaging here today are not beneficiaries in a passive sense. They are entrepreneurs, producers, employers, innovators, community builders, and contributors to inclusive economic growth.
The Real Economy of Women’s Empowerment
When we speak about women’s empowerment, we must speak about the real economy. We must speak about access to stock, compliance support, working capital, payment terms, market information, product standards, logistics, digital marketing, e-commerce, supplier development, and procurement opportunities.
These are not technical details. They are the difference between a business that is surviving, and a business that is thriving. Too often, women-owned enterprises are visible in policy language, but invisible in actual value chains. They are invited to events but not linked to buyers. They are encouraged to formalise but not supported through the compliance burden. They are told to access finance but not assisted to meet financing criteria. They are celebrated during Women’s Month but not tracked after the platform has closed. We are here to insist that this must change.
Today’s programme must therefore shift from once-off visibility to structured economic participation. As Government, we must be honest that the barriers faced by women-owned businesses are systemic — and cannot be overcome by one sector alone, working in isolation. They sit across finance, procurement, information, infrastructure, market access, networks, digital capability, and institutional coordination. No single department, bank, public entity or private company can solve these barriers alone. That is why this platform brings different actors into one ecosystem.
Everyone has a role — building an ecosystem, not a maze
Everyone has a role to play. Government has a responsibility to coordinate, enable, regulate, and create policy direction. Financial institutions and development finance institutions have a responsibility to make finance pathways clearer, more accessible, and better matched to the realities of women-owned enterprises. Buyers and retailers have a responsibility to open supplier pipelines, and to provide transparent market-entry routes. Enterprise-development partners have a responsibility to strengthen business readiness.
The success of this Trade Fair will not be measured only by the number of people in the room. It will be measured by what happens after the room empties — by how many women-owned businesses are linked to buyers; by how many enterprises are referred to finance, to procurement, and to business-development support; by how many commitments are recorded, assigned, and followed up; and by whether the woman exhibiting her product today leaves with a stronger pathway than the one she had when she arrived.
After all, an economy that undervalues the productive capacity of women underperforms by design. When women-owned businesses are supported to grow, households benefit, communities’ benefit, local economies benefit, and the country benefits. This is particularly important in the context of youth and persons with disabilities.
Today’s programme deliberately includes women-owned enterprises, youth-owned enterprises, and enterprises owned by or inclusive of persons with disabilities. We have done this because inclusion cannot be selective. A truly transformed economy must recognise the different barriers faced by different groups, while building pathways that allow all to participate meaningfully. For persons with disabilities, inclusion means accessibility, reasonable accommodation, and real economic opportunity. For young women, it means support to enter markets early, to build enterprise capability, and to participate in emerging sectors. For women in rural and township economies, it means bringing support closer to where economic activity happens — not expecting entrepreneurs to carry every institutional cost alone.
This is why coordination matters. Fragmented support will only produce fragmented outcomes. One institution provides training. Another offers finance. Another manages procurement. Another hosts an exhibition. Unless these parts are connected, women-owned businesses are forced to navigate a maze rather than an ecosystem. Today, we are saying that the State, working with partners, must become better at joining the dots.
A word to our partners
To our private-sector partners, your presence here matters. Your messages of support matter. But the most important contribution you can make is the practical pathway you place on the table. Tell women-owned businesses what sectors you are buying from. Tell them what your supplier requirements are. Tell them where the opportunities are. Tell them what standards must be met. Tell them what support exists to help them move from informal interest to actual market entry. Tell them what commitments you are prepared to make after today.
The same applies to financial institutions and development finance institutions. Finance must be understood not only as a product, but as a pathway. Women-owned businesses need clarity on readiness, criteria, risk-sharing, documentation, affordability, mentorship, and referral mechanisms. When we speak about de-risking finance for women, we are not speaking about lowering standards. We are speaking about understanding real constraints and designing support systems that help enterprises become finance-ready, procurement-ready, and market-ready.
A word to our women entrepreneurs
To the women-owned businesses here today, this platform belongs to you. Use it fully. Engage the banks. Speak to the buyers. Visit the support desks. Ask the hard questions. Showcase your products with confidence. Build relationships. Understand the requirements. Put your business forward.
Your businesses are not small in importance because they may be small in size. All large businesses began as small enterprises
— with a product, a customer, a market gap, and a founder who refused to give up. Our task as institutions is to ensure that your growth does not depend only on your individual resilience, but on a more enabling ecosystem. Nations are empowered whenever a woman starts a business. They move whenever a woman employs another woman. South Africa as a Nation will surely move when women share knowledge, cease opportunities created, and open doors and collaborate to thrive.
From recognition to linkage
Programme Director,
The 1956 Women proved that when women rise, nations rise; when women lead, nations prosper; and when women are empowered, they become an unstoppable force for the transformation of nations. And that is why today at this EMPOWER HER Trade Fair - we are saying – Women of South Africa – RISE, the baton is in your hands. Be Empowered, To Empower your Nation.
Today’s agenda is deliberately structured to move us from direction into action. We will hear partnership messages from finance, retail, enterprise-development, and market-access partners. We will conduct an official exhibition walkabout and directly engage women-owned businesses. We will hold roundtables on finance readiness, on public-private pathways, on supplier development, on procurement, on buyer linkages, and on sector opportunity pipelines. We will create space for business pitching, for practical feedback, and for market-linkage conversations. We will close with commitments, referrals, and post-event tracking.
Let this Trade Fair therefore send a clear message. Women-owned businesses are not waiting to be discovered. They are already here. They are producing. They are trading. They are employing. And they are ready for markets. What they require is not sympathy. They require access, fairness, partnership, information, finance, procurement opportunities, and accountability.
They proved that when women rise, nations rise; when women lead, nations prosper; and when women are empowered, they become an unstoppable force for the transformation of nations.
And that is why today we say – Women of South Africa – RISE, the baton is in your hands. Be Empowered, To Empower your Nation.
Declaration
It is now my honour to declare the Empower Her - Women in Trade Fair for Women-Owned Business Market Access Platform under the theme Empowered Women Empower Nations officially open.
I thank you.
#GovZAUpdates
