Key Insights From the Standard Bank Top Women Conference 2026
The Standard Bank Top Women Conference went back to the Sandton Convention Centre on 8 and 9 September 2026, uniting magnate, business owners, policymakers and experts for discussions about females’s function in Africa’s financial future.
Held under the style “Her Power Africa’sFuture Amplifying Women-Led Growth,” the Standard Bank Top Women Conference concentrated on what requires to occur for females to move beyond representation and take part more meaningfully in service, management and financial development.
Discussions covered entrepreneurship, access to financing, networks, education, innovation and management. One of the greatest messages to emerge was that females do not do not have aspiration, concepts or capability. The difficulty is producing systems that provide access to the chances, resources and relationships they require to grow.
For business owners, the conference likewise provided useful lessons on financing, developing more powerful networks and placing a company for future chances.
Women’s Economic Participation Can Unlock Growth
Simone Cooper, Head of Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank South Africa, explained the existing duration as a specifying minute for Africa.
“Africa’s future is not years away– it is currently here,” Cooper stated. She indicated research commissioned by the Mastercard Foundation, which approximates that increasing the financial involvement of girls might open approximately US$ 287 billion in extra GDP and produce 23 million tasks throughout Africa by 2030.
For Cooper, this reveals why females’s empowerment can not just be dealt with as a social concern. “Investing in females is not just a matter of addition; it is not just the ideal thing to do, however it is likewise among the most intelligent financial options a continent can make,” she stated.
This is specifically pertinent to the SME sector. Women- owned services add to work, development and financial activity, however their capability to scale frequently depends upon access to fund, markets, innovation and service networks.
Women Need Better Systems, Not More Barriers
Cooper likewise challenged the concept that females must constantly need to count on strength to be successful.
“Success must not depend upon the number of barriers females can break through. It must depend upon how successfully we eliminate those barriers in the very first location,” she stated.
This is especially crucial for business owners.
An entrepreneur might have a feasible concept and the abilities to perform it however still battle if financing, procurement chances or service support group are tough to gain access to.
Cooper argued that the focus needs to for that reason move beyond commemorating a little number of females who handle to conquer these barriers.
“Our aspiration can not just be to produce a couple of amazing females. Our aspiration needs to be to produce amazing systems that make it possible for countless females to be successful,” she stated.
For banks, corporates and federal government, this indicates taking a look at whether existing systems really produce chances for women-owned services to take part and grow.
Your Network Can Become a Business Asset
Networking was another repeating style at the conference. Ralf Fletcher, CEO of Topco Media, advised delegates that affect does not constantly originated from cash, seniority or having an effective title.
“Your power today can just be, ‘I understand somebody’, and in some cases that suffices,” Fletcher stated. For SME owners, this is a crucial suggestion that relationships can produce gain access to.
A strong network can result in intros to possible customers, funders, providers, service partners or individuals who have important market understanding. Nonkululeko Dlamini, the Chief Financial Officer at Telkom Group, urged females to think of what currently exists within their networks and which chances might originate from those relationships.
The lesson for business owners is that networking must surpass gathering contact information. The worth of a network depends on whether those relationships can result in beneficial info, recommendations, collaborations and business chances.
Women Need Sponsors, Not Only Mentors
Cooper broadened on the function of networks byhighlighting the difference between mentorship and sponsorship Mentors can provide guidance, understanding and assistance. Sponsors, nevertheless, utilize their own impact to produce chances for somebody else.
“They supporter for others when choices are made. They link individuals to networks. They produce paths where none formerly existed,” Cooper stated.
She likewise assessed how sponsorship had actually affected her own profession.
“Some of the most substantial minutes in my profession came since somebody wanted to promote for me when I was not in the space, produce a chance for me to grow, or back my capacity before I totally saw it myself,” she stated.
For a business owner, sponsorship might indicate a recognized magnate suggesting a smaller sized provider for an agreement, presenting a creator to a prospective funder or linking somebody to a business decision-maker.
It reveals why service relationships must not just have to do with getting guidance. The ideal relationship can likewise produce gain access to.
Investing in Girls Cannot Be Delayed
The conference likewise linked females’s future financial involvement to the chances offered to women previously in life. Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube beautified the phase and worried the significance of buying women and reinforcing their paths into management.
“We can not manage to postpone buying women,” she stated.
Her message highlighted that females’s financial empowerment can not start just when somebody reaches the office, goes into management or begins a company. Education, abilities advancement and direct exposure to chance all aid form the females who ultimately end up being business owners, experts and magnate.
Early financial investment can for that reason reinforce the pipeline of females getting in the economy and make sure that more women are geared up to benefit from future chances.
Women Still Face Barriers to Influence
Dr Naledi Pandor provided the keynote address, where she assessed the development females have actually made while acknowledging that barriers stay.
She revealed strong faith in females leaders and discussed females’s development in locations such as service and monetary management. However, she put a focus on females taking ownership of their womanhood and worried that females must not need to simulate guys to contend in positions of management.
Women still deal with difficulties accessing positions of impact, consisting of within federal government and other significant organizations. This indicate a crucial distinction in between involvement and power. Women can be present in an organisation or economy without always having substantial impact over choices, spending plans or business chances.
For business owners, financial impact can indicate owning sustainable services, utilizing individuals, winning agreements, accessing bigger markets and being consisted of in areas where crucial service choices are made.
Funding Pathways Need to Be Clearer
Access to fund likewise stayed a vital part of the discussion. A concern raised throughout the occasion was whether funders have actually produced strong enough paths for females to gain access to offered chances.
The difficulty is not constantly that financing does not exist. Entrepreneurs can have a hard time since they do not understand which financing choice fits their service, what the requirements are, or how to place their application.
This develops a space in between understanding that funding opportunities are offered and accessing them effectively.
Business owners require clearer paths and assistance, however business owners likewise require to comprehend what funders need. A strong financing case normally requires a clear service design, monetary discipline, proof of need and a clear description of how the financing will support development.
Women Must Help Shape the AI Economy
Technology and expert system likewise formed part of Cooper’s vision for Africa’s future. AI is currently altering how services run and how markets are structured. Cooper argued that females need to actively form that future.
“Women need to not just take part in the AI economy. They need to assist develop it, develop it, lead it and govern it,” she stated.
For SMEs, innovation can make it simpler to automate jobs, market items, comprehend clients and reach broader audiences. However, access to innovation requires to be supported by abilities and resources. If females are omitted from establishing and embracing emerging innovations, existing financial spaces might end up being broader.
From Representation to Economic Influence
The Standard Bank Top Women Conference 2026 revealed that the discussion about females in service is significantly moving beyond representation. The focus is moving towards financial impact.
That indicates producing more powerful networks, clearer financing paths, much better systems, financial investment in women and higher involvement by females in innovation and management.
As Cooper stated, “The future of Africa will not be identified by what females can attaining. That ability is currently apparent all around us.”
The larger difficulty is producing the systems and chances that permit more females to turn that ability into sustainable financial development.
For business owners, the lesson is useful: develop a strong service, comprehend the worth you bring, reinforce your network and position yourself for chances when they emerge.
