South Africa’s unemployment crisis continues to disproportionately affect women, with the official unemployment rate for women reaching 37.5% in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 30.3% for men.
Against this backdrop, entrepreneurship remains one avenue for increasing women’s participation in the economy.
Wandile Dumakude, head of Distribution at The Unlimited, has spent almost a decade working with entrepreneurs through the company’s Ownership Development Programme.
He says the number of women building businesses through the programme has increased significantly, with women now accounting for one in three Franchise Owners at The Unlimited.
Based on his experience, Dumakude identifies four qualities that he believes are common among women who successfully grow from individual entrepreneurs into business and team leaders.
1.Strong communication
Effective communication is central to building trust with customers, but becomes even more important as entrepreneurs begin developing teams.
Dumakude says entrepreneurs need to be able to listen, understand customer needs and communicate clearly. As a business grows, those same skills are required to train, develop and lead others.
2. Empathy
Entrepreneurship can involve periods of rejection, setbacks and uncertainty. Dumakude says empathy allows leaders to understand what their teams are experiencing while still helping them improve and maintain performance standards.
3. Relationship building
Building a sustainable business requires more than making individual sales. Entrepreneurs need to develop relationships with customers, earn the trust of their teams and invest in developing the people around them.
Dumakude says this shift from individual performance to developing others is critical to long-term business growth.
4. Long-term thinking
Building a successful business takes time and rarely follows a straight path. Dumakude says entrepreneurs need to remain committed during slower periods, learn from setbacks and continue investing in their businesses even when results are not immediate.
For Dumakude, these qualities work together to create the foundations for sustainable entrepreneurship.
“Communication builds trust, empathy builds teams, relationships build businesses, and discipline keeps people building even when results are slow to show,” he says.
He says Women's Month provides an opportunity to recognise the achievements of women entrepreneurs while highlighting the barriers many still face in accessing economic opportunities.
“What excites me, though, is seeing more women step forward, back themselves and build something of their own,” Dumakude says. “They're building businesses, creating opportunities and changing what's possible for themselves, their families and the people around them.”
