BRICS partnership boosts women-led businesses in Africa

SmartDigital Solutions, a private company specialising in digital transformation services and products, has partnered with BRICS Women’s Business Alliance and various state-owned entities to advance the development of Information Communications Technology (ICT) skills amongst women entrepreneurs through workshop programmes.

The partnership consists of Meta, BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, The Commonwealth, SmartDigital Solutions, United Nations, African Women in Digital Leadership, .ZA Domain Name Authority, National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa, and the University of Limpopo.

“Our intent is to equip women entrepreneurs with tools to use digital and online platforms and leverage digital infrastructure to help them join the global supply chain and contribute toward developing the global economy. The workshops will be conducted quarterly, and the programme will be launched through a virtual platform on 28 September 2022 at 11:00  SAST,” says Veronica Motloutsi, founder and CEO of SmartDigital Solutions.

The launch programme boasts high-profile dignitaries.

“The programme will focus on providing insights and tools on e-commerce and digital marketing, search engine optimisation, digital marketing using social media platforms, domain name registration, artificial intelligence and machine learning skills,” says Ipeleng Mkhari, founder and CEO of Motseng Investment Holdings. Mkhari is also a representative of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance National Chapter.

The partnership is inspired by BRICS Women’s Business Alliance’s position on closing the digital divide and ensuring women are central to the covid recovery plan. Through the partnership, 200 women-owned businesses will be trained to scale and grow their business through leveraging digital technologies for e-commerce and digital marketing to ensure that they benefit from rapid digitalisation.

“The economic disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic has been profound, and women have been hit the hardest. The Women in Digital Leadership which is the SmartDigital Solutions’ foundation, joined hands with key stakeholders in the digital industry to assist women in business by providing them with essential digital skills that will enable them to remain competitive,” concludes Motloutsi.

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