Paul Ryan once wrote that “behind every business, there’s a story worth knowing.” He was recently proven right through the extensive thought leadership that was shared with aspiring young women entrepreneurs from South Africa’s public universities, at their three-day gathering.
The occasion was the 2nd annual capacity development workshop of the executive leadership of Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP) chapters across institutions of higher learning. Up to 103 participants representing SWEEP chapter coordinators from 17 institutions attended the workshop that was hosted by Universities South Africa’s (USAf’s) Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme on the East Rand, in Gauteng. The SWEEP coordinators included pockets of universities’ staff involved in their campuses’ entrepreneurship programmes.
This was the 2nd annual SWEEP capacity development workshop. Since the programme was launched in October 2021 from the University of Pretoria, SWEEP proceeded to open its first chapter at Nelson Mandela University in 2022. From the nine chapters it had built by 2023, SWEEP now boasts a total of 19 established at 17 public universities.
It starts with self-awareness
During her opening address on Wednesday, 24 July, Dr Phethiwe Matutu (below), Chief Executive Officer of USAf, shared her own brief personal story. Brought up in a household of entrepreneurs, she said during the years in which she was studying towards her PhD, she took to selling a specific brand of her favourite pots to raise funds for herself. “Even though I made a lot of money I learned then that profitmaking was not for me. That’s when I discovered that I am more passionate about social transformation.” Through this anecdote, Dr Matutu was impressing upon SWEEP members the importance of self-awareness in aiding their own career choices and decisions.
She said this workshop was “a platform you can use to understand yourself better so that you are clear, at a later stage, about what works for you and what does not. Your success lies in utilising that wisdom.”
Self-awareness an intricate part of personal development
For Ms Maureen Grosvenor (below), one of two keynote speakers at the SWEEP workshop, the path to self-awareness was not without its challenges.
In a stirring address to the student women and their staff programme coordinators, Ms Grosvenor recounted her remarkable journey from a corporate professional to an esteemed entrepreneur, marked by resilience, self-discovery, and a commitment to empowering women in business.
Focused on the day’s theme of personal development, growth mindset, and resilience, she drew from her four decades of entrepreneurial experience — first reflecting on her early struggles as a teenage mother navigating the demands of education and motherhood, all while forging her career in a male-dominated industry. “It was tough balancing my studies, business, and raising two children,” she recounted, emphasising the financial pressures and gender biases she faced along the way.
However, it was a pivotal moment on top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak (see below), that crystallised her journey of self-discovery. As part of the Trek4Mandela expedition on Women’s Day in 2019, Ms Grosvenor and her team ascended to Stella Point, 5756m above sea level. Despite battling altitude sickness and physical exhaustion after a gruelling five-day climb, she found clarity in her mission and motivation to continue onto the summit, Uhuru Peak. “We were climbing for dignity, raising awareness, and funds for sanitary pads to keep girls in school,” she explained passionately.
“That experience forced me out of my comfort zone and showed me my true strength—both mentally and physically,” Ms Grosvenor remarked. “It was a turning point that reshaped my perspective on life and business.”
Years later, having founded and sold multiple businesses, Ms. Grosvenor now serves as co-founder and Director of GroKlub (Pty) Ltd, a family-run consultancy in technology and wellness.
Building one’s personal brand
She then articulated the fundamental elements of building a strong personal brand: reflection, self-development, confidence, and finding one’s voice. “Your personal brand is your reputation,” she asserted. “It precedes you, sustains you, and endures beyond your presence.”
Reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey, Ms Grosvenor stressed the importance of reflection for self-discovery and decision-making, self-development through education and mentorship, building confidence to combat imposter syndrome, and finding one’s authentic voice.
“Finding your voice is about authenticity and assertiveness,” she advised. “It’s about using your intuition and strengths to make a positive impact.”
As Ms. Grosvenor continues to empower aspiring women entrepreneurs, her story serves as a beacon of resilience and empowerment. Her journey from the slopes of Kilimanjaro to the boardrooms of GroKlub exemplifies the transformative power of perseverance and self-belief in achieving personal and professional success.
Turning hardships into opportunities
Also delivering another keynote address on Cultivating your professional self; strategies for personal growth and confidence in the workplace, Ms Zinhle Mpungose (below), an Organisational Behaviour Specialist and a Human Resources Executive at Transnet SOC Ltd narrated how, growing up in rural Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal, she had endured a life of hardship – living in a one-room family dwelling multi-purposed as a kitchen, living and sleeping space.
Like other people in her village, Mpungose had to carry buckets of water on her head, daily. Living under a corrugated iron roof with no ceiling, her family had to contend with scorching heat in summer and freezing temperatures during winter months – not to mention water droplets that occasionally formed on the roof (when the room heated up) and trickled down below, from time to time.
“I understood that that was my reality. But I vowed from an early age that I would grow out of those circumstances and live in a spacious home with plenty of light and running water — and drive my own car.” She has since achieved those, and much more.
Once a chartered accountancy aspirant, Mpungose’s dream was shattered by injuries she sustained in a horrific car crash that saw her suffering temporary memory loss many years ago – a state that affected her ability to process sums, forcing her to switch careers to what she has become today.
The one thing she drilled into the SWEEP women is that in life, failure is inevitable. However, instead of dwelling on the failure, “what matters is how you get up, learn from setbacks, and start all over again.”
Life must be anchored on a purpose
Ms Mpungose pointed out how easy it was to admire someone and want to emulate them, because of their success. “But is that person’s purpose your purpose? Important questions to ask yourself are: Who am I? What do I want? Do I deserve it? Then draw a plan and pursue it. You are writing your own story, using your own building blocks.”
She said one thing she appreciated about her own life was that she had grown up in an era before the advent of social media and therefore, she had had the opportunity to live in limited noise – “with only a radio set to influence me.” She reminisced about how, as a little girl, they would huddle around a small family radio transmitter at her home during storytelling, to listen together.
“You, by contrast, live in the era of social media – a major distraction,” Mpungose remarked. It was up to the aspiring entrepreneurs, however, to choose whether to follow their own “self-designed purpose or according to what is given to you. Your purpose might not necessarily be materialistic,” she said, adding that human beings tend to believe that having a lot of money will fulfill them. “Have you not seen billionaires kill themselves? Despite all that wealth, some commit suicide when distressed, leaving all that money behind.”
Envision your future, Mpungose advises
This is the advice she left the SWEEP women: “Have a clear picture of your vision. It must ignite your emotions and inspire you. The vision must be so compelling that it warrants a sacrifice on your part, by way of self-motivation. Adopt the right attitude and amass the right skills it will take you to get to where you want to be. You must obsess about this vision. Then plan out deliberate small steps you need to take to achieve it.”
She also encouraged the women to surround themselves with people supportive of their vision.
In conclusion she cautioned against the three most common obstacles that tend to obstruct one’s purpose: laziness, ill-discipline, and procrastination.
The power of building networks
For her portion of advice, Dr Matutu emphasised the importance of building networks. “They are not limited to the work environment. As women, we are about building families, raising children and advancing communities. We talk of networks beyond the conventional (work) environment. I personally discovered the value of social media beyond the chat function. It is through the networks I built on those platforms that I, for instance, secured my daughter a space in an Engineering firm for her vacation job. Mind you, you don’t interact with people only to ask for something. It is basically to understand them and build relationships. Over time, networks turn out to be incredibly useful in multiple other ways.”
The guidance above tied back very aptly to what Ms Ellen Fischat (below), the programme director, had said at the opening of Day One. “You are about to meet various people who will be sharing information with you and hold your hand, probably for the next 15 years. Use your wifi to connect with the power houses that you will be meeting in the next three days. Make this encounter count.” An accomplished social entrepreneur herself, Ms Fischat, Co-founder and CEO of Inspiring African Women NPC, had been commissioned to organise and facilitate the SWEEP 2024 workshop.
Other topics explored at the SWEEP workshop included Creating Resilient Career Pathway; Enhancing Employability Skills; Safeguarding Your Online Presence; Building a Winning Team – Governance and Responsibilities; Fields of Knowledge – Transforming Academic Insights into Agricultural Innovation; Employability Bootcamp — From Campus to Career as well as Social Enterprise Model Campus.
Overall, participants’ feedback showed high levels of satisfaction over the new knowledge gained, even though many expressed a wish for more frequent workshops for deeper learning.
‘Mateboho Green is Universities South Africa’s Manager: Corporate Communication.