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12 December 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Johan Roux
Refilwe Xaba
Refilwe Xaba’s thesis takes a deeper look into why women entrepreneurs in the informal sector are not thriving as they should.

Refilwe Xaba is not only a Senior Assistant Officer in Entrepreneurship Development at the University of the Free State’s Centre for Development Support. She is also the CEO of Glolooks, a Bloemfontein-based company which manufactures and supplies an organic natural hair product range. All this makes the journey to complete her Master’s of Commerce with specialisation in Business Management more than an academic journey. 

It was not an easy process for Xaba as she experienced a two-year-delay in her studies. “I registered in 2015 while I was a full-time student since I had not started working here and had not started my business,” she explained. Despite the detour, Xaba managed to get back on track and she finally graduated on 11 December 2019.

Sustained impact 

Xaba’s thesis on The Internal Factors Affecting the Performance of Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal Sector focuses on management, money and motherhood. Her research recommendations took into consideration the work-life balance that women have to contend with, in addition to other issues. “Women in pursuit of careers are still mothers and wives,” she said.

The study sampled 300 women entrepreneurs operating in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’s Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, and Thaba’Nchu areas. Challenges experienced by the respondents ranged from having young children, a lack of formal business training, as well as access to human, financial and social capital, low levels of management and marketing skills, family-to-work conflict and work-to-family conflict. 
“This means informal women entrepreneurs have to find ways to ensure that their businesses survive in the absence of support such as basic infrastructure, financial assistance and learning opportunities,” added Xaba.

Hindering women’s performance cripples the economy

According to Xaba, the informal sector plays a vital role in the economic and social development of South Africans. “It is one of the strategies employed in alleviating unemployment and poverty,” she said.

Small-scale operations with relatively low-capital requirements, low-income generation, low-entry requirements with respect to education and skills, and labour-intensive production methods are as important to the economy as multinational corporations. Some of the recommendations Xaba made include prioritising education to equip entrepreneurs with cognitive skills to better identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. Furthermore, mentorship surfaced as a necessary staple to the success formula. 

In addition, “families should find ways of incorporating their skills and knowledge into the running of their businesses”, Xaba advises. In order to mitigate the challenge of inadequate access to finance and low levels of start-up capital, South African banking institutions need to explore microfinancing as a possible funding model for women. 

News Archive

An education system based on hope is what South Africa needs – Dr Beryl Botman
2016-05-26

Description: Hope revised Tags: Hope revised

Dr Beryl Botman, a postdoctoral research
fellow at the IRSJ, with Dr Willy Nel research associate
at the IRSJ and lecturer at the UFS
Faculty of Education.

HOPE is tangible and concrete construct that should be rooted in the learning and training of teachers,” said Dr Beryl Botman, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ).

She presented her research paper Educators, praxis, and hope: A philosophical analysis of post-apartheid teacher education policy, based on the theoretical ideologies of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. She explores ways in which oppression has been justified, and how it has been overcome through a mutual process between the oppressor and the oppressed, drawing on Paolo Freire’s theories and practices. The presentation was held at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Faculty of Education, on the Bloemfontein campus on 13 May 2016.

From oppression to hope

Hope should be an educational construct for teacher education in South Africa. Dr Botman asserts that epistemology and ontology should be inseparable, as they are pivotal to an education system that is transformational.

The recent country-wide student protests and demonstrations are an indicant that education institutions need to seek understanding of mechanisms that fuel social conflict. Dr Botman claims that vast social inequalities make the process of democratisation difficult thus hindering transformation. She states that a critical consciousness is important for all South Africans, but more so for educators; it can be used as a tool to understanding the mechanisms of social conflict.

“Self-reflection and self-critique is vital for educators, we need to understand that we do not have all the answers because we ever-evolving beings, working on understanding ourselves and the people around us,” said Dr Botman.

The notion of hope
“I am a farmer. I have no hope for a future that is different from today. This quotation comes from Paulo Freire’s work," said Dr Botman. She said that the South African context and environment is similar. She said that people cannot live for today; one should live for tomorrow if hope is to manifest itself.

South African education environment needs to adopt a progressive consciousness that is future orientated, “You need to be hopeful, if you are radical. You need to be able to envision a new society and a new world,” said Dr Botman.

“You cannot only denounce the present, you need to also announce your hopes for a new society. South Africa needs education systems built on understanding. Although change is difficult, it is necessary for transformation,” Dr Botman added.

What makes hope educational?
“Hope is a vision for a tomorrow that is different, and vital for a transformative education system. To get out of a state of despair, people need to educate their hope. Lately, the issue of white privilege has been brought to the fore. You need to educate your hope, so that you understand the reality of others but, more importantly, of yourself,” said Dr Botman.

Dr Botma added that teacher education needs to adopt a Freirean pedagogy with a strong philosophy based on hope. The agency of teachers can either be hopeful or without hope. It is vital that education promotes hope.

“Teachers need to rely on their existential experience, the experiences of others, and the experiences of the children or students they teach. An understanding of all these experience reinforces the idea that people are life-long learners, always learning and adapting to society’s needs,” said Dr Botman.

Teachers as agents of hope

Dr Botman stated that current South African education policy is directed towards transformation but it does not stipulate means to achieve this objective. Further, she argues that educators need to put greater emphasis on self-knowledge, self-reflection, and self-education. Connecting with teachers, parents, students and the community engages with their self-knowledge and reflection.

Reorientation of teacher education
Dr Botman concluded by mentioning that rethinking ontological and epistemological aspects of education is important, and should be a pivotal point of teacher education. A renewed vision of hope-orientated philosophy and pedagogy needs to be adopted by the education institutions. A praxis, which is an informed action, when a balance between theory and practice is achieved. There is a need for an inclusive exploration of education philosophies and education systems not only European and Western but also African and Eastern as well.

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