Banking on Women – honouring Dr Zanele Mbeki

Held on 21 August 2026, the Mandela Banking on Women Colloquium was co-hosted by the CWGS and the Women’s Development Business Trust (WDBT) - founded by Dr Mbeki, it celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.

The colloquium brought together scholars, women leaders, students and development practitioners for a powerful conversation about what the theme of the colloquium “banking on women” means.

Nelson Mandela University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sibongile Muthwa

Opening the colloquium, Nelson Mandela University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sibongile Muthwa reflected on Dr Mbeki’s enduring message for women that “If there is anything to be done, let’s do it ourselves.”.

Prof Muthwa called for the colloquium to be a moment of renewed commitment to creating conditions in which women can flourish economically, socially and politically.

“When we invest in women we invest in more resilient institutions and stronger democracies,” she said. “The future we seek is already present in the wisdom and creativity of women.”

Rather than viewing women simply as beneficiaries of development, the concept positions women as architects of development - active economic and social agents whose participation strengthens families, communities and societies.

Prof Muthwa quoted Jamaican-America poet and activist June Jordan who said in her ‘Poem for South African Women’: “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Preserving women’s histories and knowledge

For CWGS Director, Professor Babalwa Magoqwana, recognising Dr Mbeki’s contribution is also an essential act of preserving women’s histories and knowledge.

“When we don’t acknowledge and make known the names of women whose work has helped shape South Africa, and continues to do so, they disappear,” she said, emphasising the importance of documenting the contributions of women.

She situated the colloquium within an African feminist perspective, describing the need for active intervention and knowledge-building to create more just and economically inclusive societies at a time when inequality remains a local and global challenge.

“We come from a long lineage of hardworking women,” Prof Magoqwana said, invoking the maxim: “Do what needs to be done where you are.”

Banking on women

Women’s Development Business Trust (WDBT) CEO Riah Phiyega and WDBT founder Dr Zanele Mbeki

Speaking at the colloquium, WDBT CEO Riah Phiyega described Dr Mbeki as a fighter for women and a visionary whose work centred on banking on women.

Dr Mbeki and fellow activists established the WDBT in 1991 to empower women, particularly those in rural and under-resourced communities, through access to resources, microfinance, skills development and sustainable livelihoods.

Its work has included pioneering microfinance and entrepreneurship initiatives, savings and loans, ICT and literacy training, women’s health empowerment, and assistance with accessing identification documents and social services.

She recalled that the Trust’s first loan was made in July 1992 for approximately R2 500. Since its founding, the WDBT has disbursed over 200 000 microloans to rural women entrepreneurs.

“If you invest in the poor, particularly women, you liberate the nation,” Phiyega said.

Shaped by social work and understanding poverty

Conversation between Dr Mbeki and Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola

A centrepiece of the colloquium was a conversation between Dr Mbeki and Pumla Dineo Gqola, professor of Literary and Cultural Studies and the SARChI Chair in African Feminist Imaginations at Nelson Mandela University.

Prof Gqola gave a brief description of Dr Mbeki’s education and Dr Mbeki then reflected on the experiences that shaped her commitment to women and poverty alleviation.

Born in Alexandra, Gauteng, in 1938, she studied social work at Wits University, followed by postgraduate studies in social policy and administration at the London School of Economics. She later completed her doctoral residency at Brandeis University in the United States.

Her understanding of poverty was profoundly influenced by her social-work placements, including work at Baragwanath Hospital and with the Child Welfare Society of Johannesburg. She recalled encountering families living in devastating poverty, including mothers with young children without food, and infants suffering from malnutrition.

Her response was to focus on women – particularly mothers and women in rural and under-resourced communities - and to seek ways of giving them the resources and opportunities to build sustainable livelihoods.

That commitment ultimately informed the creation of institutions designed not merely to alleviate poverty temporarily, but to create sustainable mechanisms through which women could build economic independence.

Think as if you have 2 billion

Dr Zanele Mbeki

One of the messages from Dr Mbeki’s conversation was her emphasis on the importance of enabling women to dream.

Recalling an encounter during the development of a microfinance programme, she encouraged participants to think beyond immediate limitations.

“Think as if you have 2 billion,” she told them. Her philosophy was to imagine the desired outcome: “Dream how you would like to see it in the end, not in the beginning,” she said.

Her vision was always bigger than any one organisation or individual. “I thought we can start our own investment company,” she said prior to founding the WDBT. “But you can’t start it on your own.” For Dr Mbeki, sustainability meant working with others who could carry the idea forward.

Dr Futhi Mtoba

This theme was echoed by chartered accountant Dr Futhi Mtoba, the first Black African woman to become a partner at Deloitte Southern Africa and the first woman to serve as its Chairperson. She described one of Dr Mbeki’s most important leadership lessons as “creating conditions in which others can discover and exercise their own voices. You do not have to own the spotlight to illuminate the path,” Dr Mtoba said.

An African feminist legacy

The colloquium also explored Dr Mbeki’s contribution to developing an African feminist perspective grounded in solidarity, humanity and collective action..

“Feminism … is not about hate. It is about humanity,” she said.

She called for a bold “new African Feminism” capable of bringing women together across national and social boundaries to influence development agendas.

Her work has extended beyond the WDBT to initiatives including, the Zanele Mbeki Development Trust - aimed at mobilising women across the African continent to influence the development agenda in our countries, communities and homes, and contributing towards strengthening the continent.

Measure your impact on society

Dr Judy Dlamini

Dr Judy Dlamini, entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, Chancellor of Wits University and founder in 2020 of the Female Academic Leadership Fellowship (FALF), a non-profit organisation that seeks to develop a pipeline of women academic leaders, reflected on Dr Mbeki’s influence on a generation of women leaders.

She challenged women leaders and academics to measure their success not only through titles and positions, but through the impact they make on society.

“Be a scholar, but what impact is your research doing in society?” she asked, then answered her question: “To change the status quo. That matters; that is the challenge.”

We need a Micro Finance Act

Dr Dlamini added that entrepreneurship and financial inclusion must include women and we need to ask what we are doing about this. “As sis Zanele says, we don’t care about the poor - in South Africa it is easier to get a loan for R2million than for R200. Regulations exclude the poor to a large extent and until we change this we will never have an inclusive society. Posing a challenge to those in the room and beyond, Dr Dlamini noted, “We will have failed Zanele’s legacy and the poor in our country if we do not have a dedicated Micro Finance Act.”

Dr Mbeki emphasised, “There is still a lot to be done in this country and there is nothing we cannot achieve with clarity. Be clear about stewarding the marginalised back to the centre. Keep growing!”