Why women-led businesses need more than compliance to succeed

THERE is no arguing the fact that trade finance does not necessarily sound sexy. But for the women we work with, it is the difference between a good idea and a growing business.

- Kerryn Campion, COO at Aions Ventures.

At Aions, we have seen firsthand what happens when you back a woman with a viable business and a plan.

Whether she is selling vetkoek in Soweto or supplying glass bottles to ABI, she has already proven she can hustle. What she needs now is not another grant, but a fair shot at real growth.

Most corporate enterprise and supplier development (ESD) models start with the right intentions. Telkom’s Future Makers programme, for example, offers early-stage capital to emerging black-owned businesses (EMEs) in the ICT sector.

This is enterprise development in action. You give a startup the money to build, hire, and operate. However, that is just step one.

Developing the supply chain

Where it starts to break down is supplier development once a business is ready to scale.

That is where you expect corporates to bring these small businesses into their actual supply chain. The result?

You have given someone tools to operate, but no customers. And no customers means no cash flow.

Even when businesses do break into procurement platforms like SCNet, CSD, or internal enterprise systems like Absa’s, they are often met with a new roadblock: liquidity.