The Acting Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Prof Chux Iwu, was a guest speaker at the recent Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) conference.
The two-day conference, which was held in Cape Town, was opened by Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah.
Several dignitaries from within and beyond the country were in attendance, including United Nations representatives, cabinet ministers from Africa and Europe and former CPUT Council chairperson, Mbulelo Bikwani.
Iwu spoke about the need for Sub-Saharan Africa to address the historical restrictions that society imposes on women.
“Women sometimes give in to these social restrictions instead of doing as much as they can to be as successful as their male counterparts,” he said.
He was taking part in a panel discussion about “Education and capacity requirements for inclusive growth” alongside academics and industry captains.
“I was happy to share the stage with people who are involved in research and entrepreneurship,” he said.
Iwu was invited to the conference after the organisers saw an academic paper,which he had co-written, on women entrepreneurship in the tourism industry in the Commonwealth Youth and Development Journal.
AWIEF is a not-for-profit economic empowerment organisation for all African women. which connects emerging entrepreneurs with established women entrepreneurs and works to equip the next generation of female entrepreneurs with information and opportunities.
CPUT students from the Entrepreneurship Department) as well as Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille, and City of Cape Town mayor, Patricia de Lille, also attended the conference.
