Nangamso Mabindla

The South African Women Entrepreneur's Network (SAWEN) celebrated women's month by launching its Eastern Cape wing on Friday at the Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London.

Deputy Minister of the Department of Trade and Industry, Lindiwe Hendricks who was the guest speaker commended the province for the work they put behind the launch of a provincial office. "There's a lot of work that still needs to be done before we have a SAWEN office in each of the nine provinces," the Deputy Minister said.

Hendricks said it is important the other provinces launch their offices "because the government intends making SAWEN a vehicle that will assist women in business to clinch deals with the outside world, thus bring resources into the country,"

SAWEN would also be a platform where the country's businesswomen would speak with one voice. "SAWEN will act as an umbrella mobilizing women into lobbying for resources. It will also organize network forums with national and international business partners," Mrs Hendricks said.

The launch was also used to set guidelines for the SAWEN Provincial Business Plan aimed at raising awareness of women's issues, service SAWEN members on provincial level, promote local government as well as present activities to be implemented over the next year.

The Deputy Minister said that "the government will support the network but it also needs to be private-sector driven. The government also hopes to sign a contract with the network's board which would enable the government to exit SAWEN in four years time,"

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