For Immediate Release
[Innovator Trust , Thuli Madonsela Foundation, Unafundo Consulting and Afrika Tikkun]
[2 February 2022]
{Resilience and Agility Nation Building Initiative}
In efforts to contribute to South Africa’s COVID-19 response strategy, the providers of the Agility and Resilience course have entered into a partnership with Innovator Trust. The objective of this partnership is to mitigate and adapt to the impact and consequences of Covid-19. It is necessary to form such partnerships as the scale of the impact of Covid-19 on businesses calls for a multi-organizational response. The parties to this partnership are socially responsible organizations that have demonstrated commitment to socio-economic development.
“The Corona Virus has thrown individuals, families, organizations and countries into unprecedented levels of - Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambivalence (VUCA) and consequent disruption.” says former Public Protector SA and Social Justice Chair, Stellenbosch Prof Thuli Madonsela. Individuals, families and companies are called upon to thrive while mental health is challenged in an exponentially changing environment with concomitant extreme uncertainty. Personal, family and organizational resilience is important for the entire ecosystems within which businesses operate.
The key to transcending exponential and operational landscape changes and heightened uncertainty challenges lies in the ability to respond to adversity in an agile and resilient fashion, bouncing back speedily and having the grit to stay the course.
The series brings together women in the ICT space to foster a culture of peer-peer networking, access to industry experts and business leadership skills over a 2-day leadership training experience. “We have been privy to the sheer desperation and unprecedented chaos and disruption that South African SMMEs have had to experience over the last 2 years and what is clear to us, now more than ever, is the need to not back down but rather to ramp up the support for small businesses,” said Tashline Jooste, CEO of the Innovator Trust. “Within the field of technology, women are still a particularly marginalised group and so as the rest of the world collectively begins to grapple with life and business under a pandemic, the Innovator Trust remains resolute in our cause to do all we can to nurture the growth of SMMEs, so that we not only ensure survival but serve as a catalyst for growth and thriving in this ‘new normal.’
The EPIC Women Entrepreneur’s Leadership Series which will take place over 7th-8th February 2022 in Cape Town, Western Cape, has been curated specifically for female beneficiaries of the Innovator Trust’s incubation programmes. As part of the series female beneficiaries of the Afrika Tikkun organization will also be participating.