Abigail Khuluse, Director at Tushiyah, opened the session with a speech espousing the Enterprise and Supplier Development’s (ESD) objectives which were namely: to see women flourish in a previously male dominated sector, to provide a lasting impact and thirdly to drive economic growth.
All these, she believes, could only be achieved by “supporting women on their journey to create businesses.” She said, “Let’s start by showcasing the women who have paved the way and the women who are making it work by working with what you have and working with what is within your reach.”
Motivational speaker and accredited life skills facilitator, Pumla Ngesi was the keynote speaker at this intimate breakfast session and her passionate talk revealed the deep spiritual intensity she felt a lot of small businesses needed to have lasting impact and legacy. She believed that a greater power needed to be at play for many small businesses otherwise these businesses would be in vain.
Passion, purpose and partnership were the three crucial factors that were essential in creating a successful business, according to Pumla.
She said, “As an entrepreneur you always have to keep at it, it’s not an easy journey - self motivation is needed constantly.”
A panel discussion followed the inspiring talk and the floor was opened to the entrepreneurs and businesses to share their stories, address issues and pose questions to the panellists which included Abigail, Pumla and Tushiyah project specialist Farzeen Bhana. A beautiful display outside the venue also showcased the various enterprises at the breakfast, viz. fashionable hats designers from Noupoort, locally made quilts and clothing and from Secunda “GlamSlam” who make headbands and clothing.
Tushiyah continues the successful 10-year history in assisting women owned SMEs with access to finance and business development services to ensure they are supply-ready, and then bringing big and small businesses together, creating linkages, and building access to market to the benefit of all.
Tushiyah is a 100% female and 60% black-owned advisory services company and one of the leading implementers of ESD (Enterprise and Supplier Development) in South Africa. Their role is to essentially act as a conduit between corporates and SMEs, creating an environment beneficial to satisfying the business connections both need to succeed. Tushiyah means “sound, efficient wisdom resulting in long-lasting success” which is the core value that Tushiyah delivers. The team is comprised of highly qualified and experienced enterprise and supplier development specialists, local economic development specialists, programme managers, business advisors, industry specialists, and accredited trainers in South Africa. Each team member is carefully selected for their compatibility with the company’s core values and ethos and for their expertise. The company was established in Johannesburg in 2008 and operates nationally with offices in Harrismith and Durban, and associates at seven urban and rural centres nationally.
