The South African Council for Business Women (SACBW) held its first networking event of 2026 on Wednesday morning, 4 February, bringing together women entrepreneurs and business leaders in Bellville under new local leadership.
Today marked the first networking event of 2026 for SACBW in Cape Town under the new leadership of Anelda Jonker, Local Business Lead for SACBW in Cape Town. The occasion brought businesswomen together under the powerful spirit of local women supporting other local women.
The event set an energetic tone for the year, with lucky draws sponsored by local businesses helping to create momentum and showcase the strength of community collaboration.
Self-awareness theme inspires those present
February’s theme, “Self-awareness”, was brought to life by guest speaker Dr Amanda Filtane, who shared a powerful and inspiring message on women’s empowerment.
SACBW is proud to have local businesswoman Ilana Steyn serving on the Cape Town committee. She was named Businesswoman of the Year 2025 during the national awards ceremony in Nelspruit last year. With a clear vision for growth, the network is aiming to make a strong mark across various categories of national awards in 2026.
SACBW is a legacy non-profit organisation founded in 1988 by the late Mrs Rika Werner. The trusted national platform was created specifically to empower women in business across South Africa and currently supports both established and emerging entrepreneurs through its provincial and local chapters.
The organisation’s mission centres on empowering, equipping, uniting, educating and embracing all women in South Africa, while celebrating women through diverse perspectives and inclusive opportunities.
Community collaboration and support initiatives
SACBW serves as a conduit platform designed for women, aimed at harnessing their collective power. Through mentorship programmes, workshops, networking opportunities and community-driven initiatives the organisation provides essential support and resources to help women realise and reach their full potential.
SACBW is also supporting local initiatives that include Samaritan’s Feet and Helpende Hand Wes-Kaap.
The organisation maintains an active presence across multiple provinces and hosts regular networking meetings, workshops and guest speaker sessions. SACBW is currently in an exciting growth phase following a strategic re-engineering plan launched in 2019, with a renewed focus on innovation, sustainability, skills development and leadership for the years ahead.
The Cape Town Chapter forms part of this national expansion and aims to create a vibrant, supportive local business community for women in the Western Cape, a space where collaboration, shared learning and meaningful connections are encouraged.
Women in business are invited to join this growing network by contacting capetown@sacbw.org.
