Businesswoman Passionate about Mentoring and Training

Van der Berg will chair the BWASA mentorship portfolio; she is a registered business mentor for SEDA and Business Partners

Welkom businesswoman, Renay van der Berg, was recently elected provincial vice-chairperson of the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa (BWASA), the largest and most prominent association of business and professional women in the country.

The association plays a pivotal role in highlighting the current status of women in leadership and acts as a lobby group that advocates women’s business issues in a bid to transform the economy. It is more than a network; it is the voice of women in business, a vision that aligns to Van der Berg’s personal and professional passions.

Van der Berg currently plays an active role in empowering SMME entrepreneurs and cooperatives in the Free State. She is business and brand development consultant in the services sector.

Van der Berg firmly believes in contributing to the community and takes on a different cause every second year where she can add value. Honouring the national call for skills transfer, she imparts skills, knowledge and experience gained over the past three decades, handing the torch to the new generation of especially young and mature women.

She believes that SMMEs can make a more sustainable contribution towards the growth of the local economy. This can be achieved through mentoring to close the skills gap and opening up opportunities for small businesses especially women owned ones.

Most of BWASA’s activities are normally held in Bloemfontein as most its members are from the Mangaung area. Van der Berg aims to recruit more professional women from the Lejweleputswa District to become BWASA members.

Bursaries are awarded each year from the proceeds of the Annual Business Woman of the Year Award. Two Free State members have recently benefited from this initiative. One of them was an undergraduate student at UFS, who benefited through the new drive Business Women of Tomorrow which is aimed at the younger generation of leaders.

Van der Berg will also chair the BWASA mentorship portfolio; she is a registered business mentor for SEDA and Business Partners.

She has called on all businesswomen to become part of a professional body.

“BWA is certainly one of the strongest contributors towards developing the next generation of women business leaders. Women are particularly close to my heart and I would like to see that all women come to realise that with the right attitude they can make their dreams come true,” said Van der Berg.

BWAFS’s nominations for the annual Regional Business Achiever Awards are now open and the winners will be announced during a gala event on July 26.