The South African Women Business Council of Cooperatives (SAWBCC) will empower historically disadvantaged women to overcome poverty by becoming smart, resourceful and capable business people who contribute to the development of the South African economy, said Anglo American executive director Khanyisile Kweyama at the launch of the SAWBCC, in Johannesburg, earlier this month.

As part of its commitment to the empower-ment of women in the South African economy, Anglo American supported the official launch of the SAWBCC. The mining giant’s enterprise development arm, Zimele, allocated 49% of its funding to women entrepreneurs between 2008 and 2012.

The SAWBCC’s main objective is to eradic- ate poverty by advocating a business environ-ment where cooperative enterprises run by women flourish, thereby contributing to employment generation and poverty eradi-cation.

The cooperative is the country’s first women tertiary apex for women in South Africa and was established on the understanding that cooperatives can be used as agents of change to emancipate economically through poverty alleviation and the promotion of financial and social inclusion.

The SAWBCC will serve as a tool for transfor- mation, as many women in the country will be incorporated into the mainstream economy, especially in economic areas that are still regarded as being exclusively reserved for the benefit of men.

This assertion is supported by South Africa’s alarming employment statistics, with a current unemployment rate of 24% in the formal sector and about 2.8-million youths between 18 and 35 unemployed.

“The impact of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a driving force in our economy. SMEs constitute about 40% of the gross domestic product and about 1.5-million SMEs employ about 60% of South Africa’s labour force,” she said.

A 2011 report by the Global Entrepreneur-ship Monitor indicates that 47% of those involved in either business or entrepreneurial activities in South Africa are women. These figures further indicate that local women entrepreneurship compared favourably with international figures, with participation levels growing by nearly 44% between 2006 and 2011.

The 2011 Census indicates that women are the primary breadwinners in 15% of South African households and therefore the earning power of women is important to many people.

“The objectives of the SAWBCC also align closely with Anglo American’s overarching philosophy, commitment to South Africa, and with our defined transformation objectives, through which we embrace the challenge of adapting our business to reflect the social, eco-nomic and regulatory changes of the country,” concluded Kweyama.