You may think that we are focused on Community Development and Community Based and Township Entrepreneurship, but we are actually an organization that focuses on creating hope and fulfilling dreams of women in both the formal and informal business sector. We stimulate women in impoverished communities that own micro businesses to drive their economic development. Shakti Empowerment shifts mind-sets from despair, desperation and hopelessness to one of joy, hope and self-confidence. We manifest real empowerment in communities that no one thought would be possible.
We facilitate meaningful engagement in empowering individuals and communities to reach their personal and economic potential! The experience is one that individuals had never imagined…that they were the creators and the masters of their destiny. It is beyond anything that people in impoverished community’s dream of.
We are Shakti Empowerment!
The meaning of the name Shakti
Shakti means Divine Feminine Power
Shakti is the word used to describe the feminine principle energy in the universe
We are instruments in bringing women back into their power.
Successes achieved by Shakti Empowerment
- First Micro franchising Trade Show and Workshop held in Khayeletsha and thirty township businesses taken through an Asset Based Community Driven Development Programme (2011);
- Mobilizing Assets for Community Driven Development for 50 Informal township-based businesses in Soweto, and the second Micro franchising Trade Show and Workshop also held (2012);
- Third Programme on Mobilizing Assets for Community Driven Development for 70 township businesses held as well as a third Micro franchising Trade Show and Workshop in the Vaal in Sebokeng (2014);
- Happy Candles; a candle manufacturing enterprise with a primary target market of townships and informal settlements. Through the support of JRP Socder Projects and the capacity building exercise of Mobilizing Assets for Community Driven Development, Happy was able to scale and grow his small manufacturing business and increase his access to markets which are spaza shops. He is now scaling further to supply the retail sector (2014);
- Violet’s Bakery – created a bakery at home by applying Asset Based Community Driven Development principles i.e. by using the one asset available to her (her stove), Violet started baking cakes at home. She currently sells her baked goods in the Pretoria CBD at the bus and taxi ranks during the early morning rush hour. She takes her product to the market and sells for 5 days a week between 6h00 to 10h00 and her turnover is approximately R30,000 per month (2016);
Project successes
- Women driven micro informal business capacity building and community- based entrepreneurship training and development. Sourcing donors to purchase basic equipment and ingredients for 20 ladies;
- Department of Small Business Development – packaging 15 businesses over 3 years into micro-franchises (2014);
- Rural Women Empowerment Programme – Trained 42 Women in 2 Rural Villages in Klipgat & Madidi – Creating 6 Rural Women driven Community based Co-operatives (2019);
- Pan African Youth Conference in Ethiopia – One of 5 Facilitators facilitating the Pan African Youth Conference for over 300 youth from over 30 countries on crafting the way forward for youth for the continent for the next 5 years(2019).
- Diepsloot GBV Women Economic Empowerment Program-12 Women from an informal community were trained and developed to start up their own informal businesses, including a lady who started up her own vegetable farm and is being groomed to supply her produce to the local Shoprite chain.
- Turkish Women Entrepreneurship Empowerment Program – Taking 10 women in four provinces through training and development focusing on E-Commerce training on Social Media & Product Photography, Legal, Costing & Pricing and Capacity Building for Women Entrepreneurs.
- Training of Facilitators to drive Mobilizing Assets for Community Driven Economic Development training, driving community empowerment programs within impoverished communities.