By Kholo Mbolekwa
Rise and Shine Disability Magazine hosted its first women with disability business dialogue on Friday, August 26 2022,at the Coral On Belgravia Boutique Guest House in East London.
“The purpose of the dialogue is to empower disabled women with businesses and also provide networking opportunities,”said Sibulele Ntsangani, one of the event organisers. “It is for the women to share their challenges within business and how they overcome them. It is also to inspire women that do not have businesses to see that there are business opportunities,” she added.
There were approximately 30 people in total including four speakers and representatives from the department of labour’s Compensation Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The representatives explained how they help compensate people who have been injured at work leading to disabilities. They also handed out bursary forms for people with disabilities who would like to further their studies.
Head of enterprise development at the Amatole District Municipality, Nyameka Goqwana, told the meeting that her goal was to empower and capacitate people with disabilitieswith the necessary skills and knowledge to run successful businesses through programmes the municipality runs in partnership with the United Nations – the Start or Improve Your Business and Start Your Business.
One of the guest speakers was Simphiwe Mabele, representing the International Labour Organisation which has “developed as system of international labour standards aimed at promoting opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity”.
Another guest speaker, Nozuko Bottoman, a disabled businesswoman, talked about how she was involved in an accident shortly after graduating with a nursing diploma in 2010, leading to her having to use a wheelchair. She decided to start her own businesses and now owns a cosmetics shop and a bottle store with seven employees.
After realising that there were many challenges that she facedwhich included wheelchair accessibility to the supplier stores, Bottoman hired a personal assistant for the smooth-running of her businesses. “We may be disabled but the disabled part is our physique not our mental capacity,” she said, motivating other women not to feel ashamed or sorry for themselves just because of their disability, but to be proud and confident in who they are.