I curated the 2019 Joburg FNB Business Women’s Breakfast which was held at Sandton Convention Centre, on 8 August 2019. I also gave the vote of thanks to our patrons, speakers, moderator and clients. Read more here.
Our brief was to create a unique women’s event in Johannesburg, an event packed with insights, one that would be memorable and create “talkability.”
With this in mind, I drafted the following as the masterplan of the event:
RATIONALE:
Whereas women in the past were expected to recede into the background, subservient to men, today women can assume leadership roles and be dominant figures in their chosen fields of expertise. Women’s discretionary spend is growing, they have disposable income and are major decision makers in their households and work environments. Like the legend off the phoenix, they’ve risen from the ashes of repression to beat dust of their skirts to implant themselves as a force for posterity sake.
We can loosely define them in these categories, in terms of their life station (age, income, etc.)
· Colourful Lilies
They are mostly studying for their undergraduate qualifications while some are in the junior phase of their careers with post-graduate education. They consume music and entertainment in noble ways enabled by new technologies. They set trends and influence a lot of media content. They are also social activists. Think of Thando Hopa (activist and model), Dr Veve Dladla (chemical engineer, M&G 200 in 2018), Hlomela Bucwa (SA’s youngest MP in 5th Parlliament)
· Burgeoning Flowers
Mid-career women establishing their own families, earning promotions in their jobs and diversifying their money by pursuing new businesses. These are people charting new paths in industries, like Carol Tshabalala (SA’s “first lady of sport”), Siba Mtongana (professional award winning chef), Terry Pheto (actress and film director).
· Longstanding Baobabs
These are the ones who are running established institutions, they grew up during the apartheid days and were able to break-through the challenges of the past. They are hugely inspirational figures, like UCT VC Mamokgethi Phakeng, Trudi Makhaya (economic advisor to the president), Gloria Serobe (WIPHOLD founder), Asnath Mahapa (first leading black female pilot [SAA]).
We therefore chose the following three speakers from each category: Thando Hopa, Siba Mtongana and Asnath Mahapa. The moderator of the conference was business journalist and Kaya FM presenter Gugulethu Mfuphi. The event was fully booked and appeared on the top trends of the day with hashtag #FNBBWB.
Mohau Bosiu 