When it comes to transformation work, Ayanda Mafuleka CA(SA), CEO of the Financial and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (FASSET), invariably goes great guns. Her tenure at the SETA, as evidenced by a plethora of empowerment initiatives, shows that she’s one for the underdog.
While Ayanda has made great strides in turning around FASSET, her work to empower women through a series of dedicated FASSET women development programmes is often underreported.
The work entails smart partnerships with a host of entities such as the Graça Machel Trust, International Women’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA) and Wits Business School. She ruminates on the said partnerships referencing FASSET’s seven strategic priorities, which include the transformation of the finance and accounting sector.
FASSET’s Executive Development Programme (EDP) responds to the need for transformation in the sector
FASSET has introduced the Executive Development Programme (EDP) with the intention of providing support and guidance to executives in the sector. However, with the call for more female representation at the executive level, the model was reviewed and curated as a response.
Since the start of 2022, FASSET has launched two programmes under this initiative, attending to the development of female professionals at different levels. On 3 March 2022, FASSET launched its partnership with International Women’s Forum South Africa and Duke University to mentor young women earmarked for executive positions in their respective sectors.
Another partnership with Wits Business School was launched on 15 March 2022 to enhance the leadership skills of female executives. ‘FASSET’s mission to develop and grow skills required in the sector while also facilitating transformation in the finance and accounting services sector is well articulated through the Executive Development Programme,’ Ayanda says.
‘My hope is that we get to a point where women no longer have to prove their worth and no longer be provided with opportunities to fill a quota. And at this point, we would no longer have to celebrate news of the “first woman” to occupy an executive or board role as occupying that space would have been the norm.’
Partnership with the Graça Machel Trust
On cue, the conversation swings to former First Lady Graça Machel, and Ayanda is in her element talking about FASSET’s partnership with the Graça Machel Trust.
The programme recently invited women-owned and -run businesses operating in the financial services sector to apply for FASSET’s Enterprise Development Programme: Women Creating Wealth (WCW).
Citing a UN Women 2020 publication, FASSET noted that the global COVID pandemic has put 47 million women into poverty. Small and medium enterprises are critical to solving the poverty problem through employment, but women-owned businesses often face challenges in accessing finance and markets.
Research also shows that women entrepreneurship is increasing faster in Africa than anywhere else in the world, but most of the businesses are small-scale and rarely developed into larger, more profitable businesses.
Said FASSET’s CEO pursuant to the launch of the partnership: ‘We believe that women-owned businesses have the potential to transform families and communities, but we recognise that many face barriers to growth, including lack of confidence, skills, technical assistance, networks, and access to markets and finance. WCW aims to address these challenges and transform women’s businesses from income generation to wealth creation.’
Partnership with the Wits Business School
Last December, the Wits Business School (WBS) signed a three-year partnership agreement with FASSET which aims to transform the lives and careers of black female executives and those earmarked for executive roles in the finance and accounting sectors. The customised EDP has been developed to help accelerate gender transformation at senior leadership level and offers delegates the skills to confidently lead African organisations in a global context now and into the future.
‘We are delighted to formalise our partnership with FASSET towards empowering women in South Africa and helping them reach their leadership potential. We salute our colleagues at FASSET for their commitment and determination to make gender inequality at senior level a thing of the past. WBS is deeply honoured to partner with FASSET in this cutting-edge development programme,’ said Leoni Grobler, Director of Executive Education at WBS.
The NQF Level 8 programme has already kicked off and it is anticipated that 1 000 women will benefit from the programme over the next three years.
‘At FASSET we strive to leave lasting legacies and making a tangible difference to the lives of beneficiaries through skills development interventions. In WBS we have found a partner that works with us to help to empower a thousand of women and address gender imbalance at the executive and board levels,’ said Ayanda at the launch of the programme.
Partnership with the International Women’s Forum South Africa and Duke Corporate Education
In partnership with FASSET and Duke Corporate Education (DukeCE), the International Women’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA) recently invited candidates to apply for the FASSET Women’s Legacy Programme for the 2024 intake.
The programme comprises an executive development programme and a middle management programme. A key component of the programme is the one-on-one mentoring programme where delegates are mentored by globally acclaimed and successful women leaders associated with IWFSA.
IWFSA is part of the International Women’s Forum, a global organisation of 7 800 pre-eminent women leaders in 33 countries, driving a common mission of advancing women’s leadership and championing equality worldwide.
There is also an international benchmark and networking study, which includes a global immersion experience for the executive development programme and an African immersion experience for the middle management programme.
The criteria to apply for the executive development programme is an NQF Level 7 qualification and above and at least five years’ senior management work experience. Applicants for the middle management programme should have at least an NQF 6 qualification and three years’ junior management experience.
Ayanda has been described as someone who strives to leave a legacy that has a lasting impact and is passionate about providing accessible opportunities to women and the underprivileged.
‘You cannot even begin to talk about economic growth in isolation from the issue of skills development,’ she says. ‘We need those skills that are going to drive the economy. It’s really humbling to be part of that bigger machinery that is supposed to drive the economy in order to take this country forward.’