November 30, 2023 – Last week, our founder, Forest Whitaker, led a special graduation ceremony for 751 wonderful women from the underprivileged townships of Cape Town. The ceremony was organized following their participation and success in an intensive training program in the framework of our Women’s Livelihood Program, that we implement in partnership with the L’Oréal Fund for Women. We also announced the 42 winners of the Business Plan Competitions, who will receive financial and backstopping support to launch their businesses. At WPDI, we are convinced that women have real potential to be drivers of peace and economic development, which is why our educational initiatives aim to offer much-needed skills development training and education to women from communities that experience high levels of violence, crime, and poverty.
Forest Whitaker gave a keynote keynote speech, highlighting the crucial role women have to play in sustainable development and Peacebuilding.
The ceremony, which took place at the Wittebome Civic Centre in Kenilworth, celebrated the outstanding achievements of the hundreds of women who had decided to take control of their lives. This year, 786 were trained, 751 graduated with a Basic Level Certificate in Business and Entrepreneurship program, and 537 were awarded an Intermediate Certificate. 42 winners of the business plan competition that followed the program received seed capital to support the growth and development of their small businesses. We will be providing mentoring and guidance throughout the growth period of each selected business to make sure they can really get off the ground.
The new cohort of graduates now joins the 750 women who graduated last year from the inaugural cohort of the program, along with the 42 women who were also awarded seed capital grants. Two years into its inception, the Women Livelihood program is already demonstrating a real, expansive impact in the local community. It has been able to help address broader issues such as youth unemployment and the need for fairer gender representation in South Africa’s business space. A survey conducted by WPDI found that 70% of former trainees believed that the program generated a change in their lives, with around 50% going on to start their own businesses.
Forest Whitaker, who had not been able to travel to South Africa since before the COVID pandemic, was elated to have the possibility of meeting directly with such a dynamic group of WPDI trainees. He said: “This year’s graduates applied themselves diligently and whole-heartedly to the learning program. Their unyielding determination and drive to succeed is an inspiring testament to the power of perseverance. Every woman crossing the stage this year should take pride in her achievements. Drawing inspiration from numerous shining examples, we are confident that these graduates will emerge as successful entrepreneurs and role models in their communities.”
Offering his words of support was Regan Adams, CEO of RCS, one of our key partners in the Cape Flats, who said that WPDI’s work clearly demonstrated how education can change lives and improve livelihoods. He said: “RCS is unwavering in its support for WPDI’s goals, we strongly believe in financial inclusion as the cornerstone of sustainable social development and our nation’s collective well-being.”
The event was also attended by Celeste Tema, Sustainability Lead for L’Oreal Sub-Saharan Africa, who grew up herself in the Cape Flats. She encouraged women to believe in themselves, and highlighted her own understanding of the difficulties facing women in the Cape Flats, stating: “As someone who grew up not far from here, I can attest to the transformative power of education. I grew up in the Cape Flats, so I know what it’s like and I know what it takes!”
We are very proud of our Women Livelihood Program, which is now deployed across all the countries where we operate and contributes to help women around the world realize their potential and become change makers both for today and for tomorrow.
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