The Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme is gearing up to host its annual SWEEP Chapter Executives Capacity Building Workshop 2024, promising a dynamic and transformative experience. Set to take place from Wednesday, 24th July, to Friday, 26th July 2024, at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Johannesburg, this two-and-a-half day event aims to equip student women leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to drive the objectives of the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP) through their respective chapters.
In response to the under-representation of women in entrepreneurship and the issue of gender-based violence, the SWEEP programme was designed to empower student and graduate women across South Africa’s public universities. Developed under Universities South Africa’s (USAf) EDHE Programme, SWEEP focuses on fostering entrepreneurial activities that create positive societal impacts. The programme’s structure consists of coordinators at public universities, helping system-wide change and promoting gender equity and economic empowerment at a level of higher education.
The collaboration with the British Council and EDHE began in 2023 and has been instrumental in growing the SWEEP initiative. The British Council’s alignment with the UK International Education Strategy and its commitment to gender equality in Higher Education has provided a foundation for the programme. This partnership has been important in co-designing and delivering a project that supports women’s and girls’ empowerment.
Every year, EDHE hosts a two-and-a-half-day workshop for SWEEP chapter executives. These executives, who are appointed by their universities, form committees to lead SWEEP’s objectives and grow the SWEEP Sisterhood. Comprising 5-10 student women per university, each chapter is managed by a SWEEP Coordinator who will join the students at the workshop. This year’s event follows the successful SWEEP UK Residential Knowledge Exchange Study visit, which took place from 27th May to 1st June 2024, involving 19 participants from nine universities and ten chapters on a week-long trip to London.
The upcoming workshop will see 19 registered SWEEP chapters from 17 universities, targeting 100 participants, converging for an immersive experience. Inspiring African Women NPC, under the leadership of CEO & Co-Founder Ellen Fischat, will lead the workshop programme over the three days.
The workshop’s primary objective is to provide a transformative learning experience for the SWEEP Student Chapter Executives, led by their university SWEEP Chapter Coordinators. The programme is designed to equip participants with essential skills to excel in their roles, understand the particulars of running a SWEEP chapter, and effectively transfer knowledge to other executives and chapter members. The participants will also learn to design and implement initiatives, become drivers of social change, improve their entrepreneurial skills, and contribute to the broader goals of the SWEEP programme.
The workshop’s vision extends to addressing the barriers to entrepreneurship faced by student and graduate women through dedicated skills and opportunities intervention. Leveraging expertise from both the UK and South Africa, the programme aims to develop an awareness of entrepreneurship as a means of economic participation among university women, promote their participation in entrepreneurial activities, and connect them with mentors who can guide them in creating businesses that have a positive societal impact.
The SWEEP Chapter Executives Workshop 2024 is set to be an enriching and empowering event, inspiring the next generation of women entrepreneurs to lead with confidence and create meaningful change in their communities.
NOTE: The Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme, primarily sponsored by the Department of Higher Education and Training and implemented under Universities South Africa, is also supported by the Higher Education Programme grant from the British Council. The grant supports the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP).
The grant is part of a wider British Council programme called Going Global Partnerships, which builds stronger, more inclusive, internationally connected higher education and TVET systems.
For more information, please visit www.britishcouncil.org/going-global-partnerships.