EntreprenHERs in Blouberg, South Africa, mark International Women’s Day with a celebration of growth and resilience
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A few days after International Women’s Day, and against the backdrop of South Africa’s Human Rights Month, on 13 March 2026, 52 women entrepreneurs gathered in Blouberg for a graduation ceremony of the 2025 EntreprenHER programme participants. The event marked how far the initiative has come since its launch in 2018, and how much further its graduates intend to go. EntreprenHER is a project of UN Women South Africa and the De Beers Group aimed at training women entrepreneurs to expand their micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. The Blouberg Local Municipality is one of the two main partners implementing the program in South Africa.
The graduation ceremony honored women who completed business skills training under the International Labour Organization-accredited Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) curriculum. During 2025, the program provided them with tools in financial management, record-keeping, costing, and enterprise growth. So far, hundreds of women-owned businesses across three cohorts in the Blouberg area have been trained through the program, helping to create many jobs in a community with a high unemployment rate. The occasion drew tributes from the government, the private sector, and the graduates themselves.
Blouberg Municipality Executive Mayor, Councillor Maria Thamaga, reflected on how the programme had transformed not just individual livelihoods, but the economic fabric of the municipality. "The EntreprenHER programme taught women to be independent and self-reliant. The partnership we have forged has made some strides in the economic development and growth of our area,” said Mayor Thamaga, who also announced that government had allocated budget to support small and medium enterprises, and confirmed that a Memorandum of Understanding between Blouberg Local Municipality and UN Women South Africa would be signed, signalling a deepening of the institutional commitment to women's economic empowerment.
Andy Cyster of De Beers Group spoke passionately about the business case for investing in women, framing the graduation not as an endpoint but as a beginning. "You are equipped to do great things," he told the graduates, acknowledging their resilience through training, trials, and hardship. "The pillar of all communities is the mothers," he added - a recognition that money earned by women flows directly into households and communities.
Guest speaker Dr. Hazel Gooding, UN Women South Africa Deputy Representative, challenged the graduates to resist the temptation to minimise their own enterprises in the face of corporate culture. "There is nothing small about micro-businesses. Micro-businesses are the heartbeat of our community." Dr. Gooding urged the graduates to pair ambition with financial discipline and peer solidarity. "No one builds an empire alone; you need to lift each other as you climb," she said.
Khomotso Mbengwa (33) is the co-founder of KKM Trading Enterprise, which manufactures detergents, blinds, and curtains from her home in Marais, Blouberg area. She registered her company in 2022 but only activated it fully after being retrenched in December 2024 - a period that coincided with a profound personal loss. "After retrenchment, I lost my mom. I was not mentally okay," she recalled. Joining EntreprenHER in September 2025 gave her both structure and re-ignited her purpose. The training, she said, transformed her financial management and gave her a way to channel her grief. Her advice to other women was unequivocal: "We must get out of our comfort zone. We must stand up for ourselves. Associate yourself with people who will help you go furthers" she said.
As the certificates were handed out and the room erupted in applause, the message from Blouberg was clear: the EntreprenHER programme is not producing graduates. It is producing women who are shaping their own futures and, by extension, the futures of their families and communities.
EntreprenHER is a UN Women programme that was originally launched as AWOME (Accelerating Women-Owned Micro-Enterprises) in 2017 and is funded by De Beers Group. The programme supports women micro-entrepreneurs in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa and has reached approximately 3,500 women to date. By providing training, mentorship, and access to markets, EntreprenHER empowers women to grow, formalise, and sustain their businesses. Learn more about the UN Women and De Beers EntreprenHER programme.