A Hand Up: UN Women and Coca-Cola South Africa Partner to Economically Empower Women

Record keeping, marketing and costing make or break a small-business entrepreneur. Fifty-one-year-old restauranteur Ayda Ramatsiba Maphefo and 36-year-old food vendor Moetsana Sehtlabo improved their sales and business strategies through a mentoring programme that was delivered by Hand in Hand Southern Africa through the recent partnership between UN Women and Coca-Cola South Africa. To date, 4,478 enterprise owners have received training in business development skills, and the programme aims to reach 25,000 women entrepreneurs running small businesses mainly within the Coca-Cola value chain. Here, Sehtlabo and Maphefo share how the skills translated directly into profits.