Demand-led support is more effective than supply-led training programmes
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By Dr Nirmala Reddy, Head of Enterprise and Supplier Development at Nedbank
As South Africa marks Entrepreneurship Month this November, we should ask whether our support for women-owned businesses is helping them secure and fulfil profitable orders. In a tough economy, sustainable growth depends on finding customers, meeting their requirements and being paid on terms that allow a business to keep trading.
Export readiness is the missing link between trade opportunity and the realities of running a small enterprise. It brings together product readiness, compliance, logistics, finance and a credible route to a paying customer. Trade agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can lower barriers, but market access does not create customers. Businesses need to choose markets where there is real demand for what they sell.
Many women entrepreneurs operate in the informal economy, where access to legal advice, compliance support and financial expertise is limited. A business that cannot navigate documentation, demonstrate product quality or calculate the cost of delivery will struggle to take up an opportunity, whatever the trade rules say. Commitments such as the AfCFTA’s Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade matter, but reducing barriers on paper must be matched by practical support.
For businesses that already have viable products and the capability to grow, the immediate need is secured orders and offtake agreements. Another round of general training will achieve little if there is no customer at the end of it. Support should begin with a commercial opportunity and address the specific obstacles to fulfilling it.
This requires value chains in which risk is shared fairly. A small supplier should not carry the full burden of financing production, meeting unfamiliar requirements and absorbing late payment while larger partners retain most of the certainty.
Buyers should set out volumes, specifications, quality standards, delivery schedules and payment terms. Phased orders, realistic lead times and clear purchasing commitments can give suppliers a workable route in. Buyers gain dependable supply; entrepreneurs gain the visibility to plan and invest.
Development partners can then close the specific gaps, whether certification, packaging, production planning, financial records or customs documentation. Training and mentorship have value when they solve an identified problem and move a supplier towards an order.
An order may be profitable yet create a cash shortage if materials, wages and freight must be paid weeks before the customer settles. Banks and entrepreneurs should assess that cash cycle, the buyer’s payment reliability, currency exposure and suitable finance or payment protection before terms are accepted. Funding remains subject to assessment, but early engagement shows whether a transaction is workable.
Pricing needs the same discipline. Freight, insurance, duties, certification and distribution can erode an apparently healthy margin. Businesses need to know their landed cost, the requirements for any tariff preference and who bears each expense. Export readiness means knowing whether an order will leave the enterprise financially stronger.
The United States has announced its intention to withdraw South Africa’s trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from 1 January 2027. AGOA is a unilateral US trade concession. The impact of losing those preferences will vary by product and depend partly on whether US buyers can find suitable alternatives. Citrus illustrates why the details matter. Oranges were exempted from the additional US tariffs announced in 2025, while mandarins faced different treatment. Exporters need to assess the duties and buyer demand for what they actually sell.
Diversifying export markets and building resilient regional value chains make commercial sense where there is demand. The AfCFTA can lower barriers to trade within Africa and give smaller suppliers, including women-owned businesses, more ways to participate in regional value chains. The US remains an important market in its own right. Lower tariffs can help South African exporters compete, but lower incomes in many African markets can limit demand for higher-value South African goods, particularly beyond Southern Africa. Businesses should start by identifying buyers and testing whether they can fulfil orders profitably.
Governments, buyers, banks and development partners should work with women entrepreneurs to track how many women-owned businesses trade directly or supply larger exporters, and where they struggle to enter or stay in value chains. Aggregate export figures cannot tell us that.
Progress should be measured through margins, orders fulfilled, invoices paid on time and repeat customers. With appropriate consent and verification, these indicators can also inform risk assessment. A record of reliable delivery and payment says more about a business than attendance registers can.
For some businesses, the next step is a larger domestic contract. Others are ready to sell across borders. This Entrepreneurship Month, we should judge enterprise development by whether it helps women-owned businesses win profitable orders and keep their customers.
