December 2, 2022 – Last week, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative held a graduation ceremony for 750 women who live in the most underprivileged townships of Cape Town, after they participated in a 6-week training program in the framework of the Women’s Livelihood Program, in partnership with the L’Oréal Fund for Women. We also announced the 42 winners of the Business Plan Competitions, who will receive support to launch their businesses.
The ceremony, which took place at the Muizenberg Civic Center in Cape Town, was attended by leaders from different horizons. Local authorities, who brought their weight behind the project, were present, with such personalities as Deputy Mayor Alderman Eddie Andrews, Counselor Joan Woodman and Area Manager for City of Cape Town Brian Ford. The L’Oréal Fund for Women, which directly supported the training program, was represented by its Director, Sylviane Balustre-d’Erneville. Kieran Fahy, Head of Territory for BNP Paribas South Africa, and Balraj Dev, Deputy CEO of RCS, were also in attendance, standing for our long time partnership with their respective companies in Cape Town.
The event started with inspiring and moving speeches from two trainee representatives, Busi Mathe and Adelaide Moore. They highlighted how empowering this training program was for them, and how much hope it gave them. Many women from the poorest communities of Cape Town feel like they lack opportunities, whether in business or in leadership in general, especially for older members of the community. There are some programs for youths, but being selected for a business training when you’re 59 and turning 60 next week (as is the case with Adelaide) was already astounding.
After some very inspiring speeches from our partners, all 750 women received their certificate. All of them passed the Basic Level, and 500 of them also passed the Intermediate Level. Then followed the announcement of the 42 winners of the Business Plan Competitions. When hearing their names and with the crowd cheering them, some women shouted for joy, others burst into tears, overcome with emotion (video). The energy in the room was amazing. Most of these women have such terrible backgrounds, being victims of gender-based violence, poverty and marginalization, and they worked so hard to change their future, that we truly felt their emotion to be given the opportunity to move forward with their entrepreneurial project.
“The Women’s Livelihood Programme is a key milestone for the empowerment of women in the Cape Flats. We do hope that it will inspire many other women to acquire such life transforming skills and make a difference both for themselves and for the community at large.”
Caroline Descombris, WPDI Executive Director
“Giving women in vulnerability the opportunity to learn, to grow and to gain autonomy is a priority to support them to overcome the difficulties they face and build a better future for themselves and their communities.”
Sylviane Balustre-d’Erneville, L’Oréal Fund for Women Director
“The work we have done in conjunction with WPDI has allowed us to take a closer look at the impact of violence on society, with a particular focus on the gender dimension of that impact. We can now see the tangible difference that empowerment initiatives can make in the lives of the most vulnerable members of society, and we urge all the participants in this year’s programme to ‘go forth and conquer’ as they pursue their individual and collective ambitions.”
Balraj Dev, Deputy CEO at RCS
“In South Africa, WPDI’s education and entrepreneurship programs provide young people with tools and resources they can use to develop sustainable solutions. Education is the key to promoting inclusion and equal opportunities, fighting poverty and tackling gender inequality. As proud partners of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative in South Africa, BNP Paribas & RCS celebrate the programme’s ongoing success – and offer our sincere support and congratulations to this year’s graduating students.’’
Kieran Fahy, CEO of BNP Paribas South Africa
The event was a powerful moment for all involved. WPDI and our partners are extremely proud of the real-world effects of its programs that are designed to empower and enrich people from the most desperate, underprivileged communities, giving them real hope for the future. The graduation was an incredibly moving event, and we are proud of our committed WPDI team on the ground in Cape Flats who made the graduation of these 750 women possible, and opened new opportunities to the 42 Business Plan Competition winners.
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