Project EMBRACE: Empowering Black Women and Youth in the Green Economy
Context
The SASDC is pleased to partner with WE4D on the SASDC’s EMBRACE Project. WE4D (Employment promotion for women for the green transformation in Africa) is a regional platform for employment promotion, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-funded by European Union (regional Team Europe Initiatives - TEI IYBA SEED, TEI IYBA WE4A) and Norad, and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
WE4D aims to support employment opportunities, especially for women in Africa and contributes to a green transformation of nine partner countries (South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Cameroon, Togo, and Senegal).
In recent years, there has been a global push towards sustainability and the transition to a green economy, characterized by industries and practices that prioritize environmental conservation and low carbon emissions. The green economy represents a pivotal pathway towards sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and economic growth in South Africa. However, the current landscape reveals significant disparities in the representation and participation of marginalized groups, particularly black women, within this sector. Despite efforts to foster inclusivity and gender equity, the underrepresentation of black women in leadership, decision-making roles, and entrepreneurship within the green economy persists as a critical challenge. The problem at hand encompasses multifaceted dimensions: (1) Lack of access to opportunities; (2) Limited representation in leadership roles; (3) Inequitable funding and entrepreneurship support; (4) Cultural and societal norms; and (5) Lack of role models and mentoring.
It is essential to recognize that the green economy is not gender-neutral;
rather, it has the potential to either perpetuate or challenge existing gender inequalities. Globally, women's limited access to resources, education, training, and financial capital, coupled with deeply ingrained socio-cultural norms, can all act as barriers to their involvement in green industries such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, and conservation efforts.
A new multi-donor initiative seeks to address these socio-economic challenges and opportunities, while also supporting the international efforts towards a green transformation, one characterised by transition to environmentally friendly sustainable practices in all sectors of the economy.
Approach
This programme seeks to address the multifaceted challenges that hinder the effective participation of women, particularly Black women, in the green economy and to implement sustainable solutions for fostering their inclusion. Addressing these challenges is crucial for South Africa to harness the full potential of its green economy and ensure a just and equitable transition towards sustainability. Women empowerment and the green economy remain strategic areas of policy focus in South Africa.
In line with the organisational goals of the SASDC, prioritizing job creation and entrepreneurship initiatives for black women and black female youth in South Africa is a strategic approach that not only addresses historical injustices but also contributes to economic growth, innovation, and social progress. It's a way to build a more inclusive and prosperous future for the entire nation. By leveraging our existing network of corporate members, certified black owned businesses and strategic partners, we are able to develop and implement solutions that covers all of the targeted beneficiaries listed above through the following project components:
Cadet Workplace Integrated Learning & Intrapreneur / Entrepreneur Component (“CADET”) - A learnership placement initiative for current and past women students that have completed their theoretical studies at TVET colleges, who will be placed in green businesses while also receiving training and mentorship on how to start up, manage and grow their own businesses in the green economy.
Women in Green Construction, Waste Management and Renewable Energy Business Development Component (“WIG”) - A virtual business incubator / accelerator initiative focused on supporting the technical skills development and market access of mainly women-owned construction and renewable energy companies to compete in the green construction and energy solutions industries. Training and mentoring will be provided in the areas of green technology, product development, project management, domestic & international accreditation standards.
Greening the Global Export Accelerator Component (“G-GEAP”) - Support current and future women participants with improving the global competitiveness of their offerings and business models through gender-transformative and greening approaches. Ongoing global and domestic market access will be facilitated, particularly via the Global Supplier Diversity Alliance (GSDA).
Women’s Empowerment: Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy Component (“WEFiL”) - An on-line course aimed at equipping women graduate students, practitioners, and budding entrepreneurs from South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda on how to do Business in Africa by exposing them to a valuable networking experience and “pracademic” (practical and academic) approach of best practice methodologies focused on how to find the right opportunities on the continent and translate these into tangible green businesses, as well as how to start up, manage and grow their own businesses in the green economy.
Gender-Responsive Green Transformation Training for MSME’s (“GR-GT”) - This training programme is designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to integrate gender-responsive approaches into the process of sustainable and environmentally-conscious business transformation. The course will focus on empowering participants to recognize the importance of gender equity in the context of green business practices and provide them with practical tools to create inclusive and sustainable small businesses.
Key activities
- Entrepreneurship development and training on how to start-up, manage and grow their own businesses in the green economy. Focused mainly on women students that have completed their theoretical studies at TVET colleges.
- Green technology, product development, project management, domestic and international accreditation standards will focus on technical skills development for mainly women-owned businesses in construction and renewable energy to compete in the green construction and energy solutions industries.
- Leadership Executive Development focused on empowering women-owned businesses and improving the global competitiveness of their offerings and business models through gender-transformative and greening approaches.
- Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy aimed at equipping women graduate students, practitioners, and budding entrepreneurs from South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda.
- Gender-Responsive Green Transformation Training to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to integrate gender-responsive approaches into the process of sustainable and environmentally-conscious business transformation.
Intended Impact
This project addresses all areas of focus (GEWY – Green-Employment-Women-Youth) while having a broad coverage for creating economic and employment opportunities in new and emerging market segments of the green economy. From an employment promotion perspective, the project focuses on dependent employment and self-employment opportunity creation through labour supply (skills development).
labour demand (enterprise development) and labour matching (transition from training to jobs). Project EMBRACE is entirely focused on women economic empower at a gender-sensitive, gender-responsive, and gender-transformative level, with interventions ranging from a direct focus on green sectors (eco-tourism, agribusiness, waste management and renewable energies), to a major focus on greening jobs (construction and transport/logistics). Project EMBRACE aims to deliver:
- 500 people in new decent employment, thereof 400 jobs for women and 300 for youth
- 1200 people with improved employment situation thereof 900 jobs for women
- 1450 people have completed vocational training thereof 1200 women
- 250 MSMEs and 250 start-ups have improved business capacity
- 3 companies implement approaches to employment promotion
About the SASDC
The South African Supplier Diversity Council (SASDC) is a corporate-led initiative bringing together like-minded private sector companies and other stakeholders to promote supplier diversity as a business strategy to achieve competitiveness and long-term sustainability. The SASDC’s mission is to empower Black businesses by fostering a collaborative supplier diversity ecosystem, leveraging procurement and development interventions, and certifying and connecting stakeholders to drive growth and competitiveness.
Our purpose lies primarily in addressing the socio-economic challenges faced in the supply and value chain. We aim to create a diverse and inclusive supply/value chain that is in alignment with the National Development Plan. We do this to unlock competitiveness by creating access to procurement markets for marginalized Black businesses through the development of a collaborative ecosystem of partners from business and government.
Contact Us
Gary Joseph – gary.joseph@sasdc.org.za
Glynnis Jackson – glynnis.jackson@sasdc.org.za
Tel: +27 (0)11 100 1025
Address: Ground Floor, Suite 10, Kopano on Empire, 30 Wellington Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa
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