A six-month programme called Femtech, which provides business support services to women who wish to establish and grow their own technology-enabled businesses, will be rolled out from the beginning of July.
Dr Jill Sawers, one of the conceptual developers and trainers of the course, says “a need to provide a safe space for women to share their challenges and form meaningful peer-to-peer networks” is what brought about this programme.
The programme is being funded by the Embassy of Finland and executed in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, according to Femtech.
Women in technology
Science and technology minister Naledi Pandor plans to increase the visibility of women in the sector. The Department of Science and Technology is looking at ways to step up the contributions women make to the industry.
“We can no longer only focus on providing access for women to these fields. Our latest surveys show there are many women working in the industry. However, they patent fewer innovations and don't publish as much as their male colleagues,” she notes.
Sawers says that part of the objective of the course is to help address these issues. She explains that women often shy away from “technologies”, perceiving this to be the domain of men.
“Furthermore, women often don't have access to peer networks of women facing similar issues in a very male-dominated field. Hence, the objective is also to link women up with other women facing similar challenges such that they can support and assist each other.”
She adds that the objective is also to support women who have started or are in the process of starting technology-enabled businesses. “Running a technology business has specific challenges, for example, the management of intellectual property; [or] assistance with technical aspects of developing/running/maintaining the product or service, and hence requires specific intervention.”
Discouraging figures
In March, ITWeb conducted a snap survey to gain further details on Business Unity SA's study, which looked at the demographic and age profile of the upper management echelons of all 295 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
ITWeb randomly selected 10 JSE-listed ICT companies and looked at their management structure to gauge what the demographics are for females in this industry.
According to the findings, of 10 CEOs, 90% were male and 10% female, and of 10 CFOs, 90% were male and 10% female. Of 10 chairmen, 100% were male, while of 44 non-executive directors, 75% were male and 25% were female. These figures are an indication of the small part women play in the ICT space.
Innovation welcome
Open to women of all ages, the programme is aimed at women who are existing business owners with demonstrated entrepreneurial skills, and who are running technology-enabled businesses and wish to grow the business substantially, according to Femtech.
It is also aimed at those who want to introduce an innovative product or service (at least at the concept stage) into an existing business, or who plan to spin out a business from a corporate environment.
Sawers adds that there are plans to take this programme to some of SA's neighbouring countries.
Twenty applicants will be chosen for this first run of the programme. Short-listed applicants will be interviewed and required to present their concepts at the end of June.
Training technopreneurs
The course combines practical training with experiential learning in terms of the exercises that the participants will engage in; the peer-to-peer sharing in facilitated discussion groups; and one-on-one mentoring, according to Sawers.
“They will be guided as they work on the planning and development of their business, both during and between the workshops. At the end of the programme, those seeking funding for business growth will have an opportunity to pitch to a panel of investors, who will critique their presentations in terms of what they liked and what they did not like.
“This will not only prepare them in terms of the approach to take with investors, but they may even find interest by panel members in 'doing a deal',” adds Sawers.
The course will run from 1 July until 31 October, at The Innovation Hub, in Pretoria, and applications close on 31 May.
Share
