Absa & Visa Collaborate to Introduce She's Next Program for 2024

She's Next program 2024 has been launched by Visa a global payments tech company in partnership with Absa, an international advocacy initiative that aims to offer funding, mentorship, and training to women-owned small businesses. The partnership represents a commitment to driving meaningful impact and progress for women in societies beyond traditional business norms.

By supporting and for advocating women entrepreneurs in South Africa, Visa, and Absa will spearhead an empowerment initiative for women in business. Both organizations are dedicated to doing business well and changing society for the better. Collectively, their objectives are to broaden their scope and provide more digital payment services, with an emphasis on youth markets, support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and enable women to become business owners.

To win more than R1 million prize value chances have been offered by The She’s Next Program. Training and capacity-building sessions from Visa, Absa, and their partners in addition to monetary rewards will be received by the best candidates.

"We are excited to introduce our popular 'She's Next' global program to Africa once more," Visa South Africa's Country Manager, Lineshree Moodley, said.

In collaboration with its partners, Visa is broadening the scope of the She's Next initiative to empower more female entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of female entrepreneurs is still rising.

To go digital, surpassing their goal set in 2020 to digitize 50 million SMBs, Visa has successfully enabled 16 million small and micro businesses (SMBs) around the world. With a focus on gender inclusivity and diversity, the Visa Foundation has also awarded $1 million in funding to organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa supporting SMBs; The She's Next program in Sub-Saharan Africa will inflate these efforts and make a significant impact.

Steven Zwane, Absa's Managing Executive of Corporate Citizenship, expressed his excitement about joining the 2024 She's Next program. He says, "This partnership represents a natural extension and continuation of the substantial work that Absa has embarked upon to comprehensively understand the unique needs of women-owned small businesses, and ultimately, to help them succeed. Through Absa and Visa’s joint efforts, we hope to make a meaningful, tangible impact in society”

The idea behind She's Next is the conviction that empowering women in the workplace can have a profoundly positive impact. Apart from merely acknowledging the efforts of women entrepreneurs, the program provides them with real assistance in the form of grants, one-year coaching memberships, and strategic alliances with prominent personalities in diverse sectors.

To further opportunities for female entrepreneurs throughout Africa, She's Next, a global advocacy program, will expand to five countries this year: Senegal, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).