Road to Leadership in South Africa

For women in South Africa, entrepreneurship can be challenging. Widespread gender stereotypes undermine women’s confidence in business, holding them back from success as leaders. In fact, women’s small and medium sized businesses have 33% less turnover than men’s. While the government has expressed support for gender equality, effective policy implementation remains elusive.

Our country assessment in 2021 indicated that women entrepreneurs in South Africa had an appetite for programmes that teach confidence, negotiation, networking and communication skills, which promote empowerment and support women’s leadership.  

With the support of our partners at DHL Express and the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s (GIBS) Entrepreneurship Development Academy, our Road to Leadership training programme has been delivered in South Africa since 2022. 

Road to Leadership guides participants through the leadership, communication and advocacy basics needed to grow as powerful changemakers through three online sessions. The training supports them to better lead and influence within their companies, with their stakeholders and beyond. 

So far, 142 South African women entrepreneurs have participated in the programme, which has seen incredible impacts.