These are the key women’s investment companies in South Africa:
n Women’s Investment Portfolio
This company is the mother of female-led investment companies. Last year it started a holding company to offer preferential shares to the female public.
It expects to turn a profit by 2000. It has investments in financial services, the Bidvest group and the retail chain Smart Centre.
n Nozala
Directors include Salukazi Dakile- Hlongwane, Vodacom’s Joan Joffe and Dawn Mokhobo. It has invested in Fedics, the National Empowerment Consortium (NEC)and the education company Educor.
n Women’s Development Bank Investment Holding Company
A cautious company which ploughs all its profits into its micro-loans programme for rural women.
Its largest investment has been in CTP directories (which prints telephone directories) and in the Global Resorts casino development in Secunda. Its best- known director is Zanele Mbeki.
n Akhona
KwaZulu-Natal-based, this company comprises between 40 and 50 grassroots trusts which fund Akhona via a monthly fee. It is administered by Marriott.
n Yakhani
Owned by 25 women in Port Elizabeth who invest primarily in the property market.
n Women Investment Network
Started by Nozala’s Dakile-Hlongwane, this is an attempt to organise women seamstresses.
The company has shares in the NEC as well as casino interests.
n Pontso
Launched by 10 high-flyers. It will seek investments in information technology and telecommunications, as well as educational and financial services. Forty-nine per cent of the company is available for investors in other provinces and in the rest of Africa.
Other companies include Women in Capital Growth, Enterprising Women Investments, Women Empowerment Investments, Malibongwe (the company started by the African National Congress Women’s League which ran a desultory Gauteng detention centre) and Phahamang Investments.
Information supplied by the BusinessMap consultancy