Johannesburg, South Africa | 01 March 2026
As the world commemorates International Women’s Month, BRICS Women’s Business Alliance South Africa (BRICS WBA SA), in partnership with the South African Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (SACOCSO), hosted Rev. Sheila Hlobelo, Chairperson of the South African Council of Churches (Gauteng Province) Women’s Desk, for a high-level strategic engagement focused on youth economic activation and church economy participation in national development.
The strategic engagement was convened by HRH Lebogang Zulu, National Chairperson of BRICS WBA South Africa, as part of South Africa’s broader BRICS-aligned strategy to strengthen structured entrepreneurial pipelines capable of participating in global markets and forthcoming BRICS Women StartUP initiatives.
The meeting symbolised the critical leadership role women continue to play in shaping economic, social, and institutional transformation across BRICS nations and the African continent.
Discussions centred on collaboration around the ECEDM Africa Forum 2026 (Economic Cooperation & Entrepreneurship Development Masterclass), scheduled to take place during South Africa’s Youth Month in June 2026. The Forum is designed as a high-discipline economic capability platform aimed at re-engineering entrepreneurial mindset, strengthening execution discipline, and preparing scalable enterprises for institutional and cross-border engagement.
A key outcome of the engagement was a shared commitment to explore activation of the church economy as a structured contributor to South Africa’s national drive toward economic growth and advancement. The dialogue recognised that faith-based institutions represent significant economic ecosystems — encompassing procurement networks, property assets, youth formations, women-led initiatives, and community enterprise structures — which, when strategically aligned, can meaningfully contribute to inclusive economic participation and enterprise development.
Rev. Hlobelo welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on structured youth mobilisation within Gauteng Province and to position church-affiliated young entrepreneurs within the ECEDM Africa pipeline. The proposed partnership model includes the identification and preparation of high-potential youth leaders to participate in the June 2026 Forum, with the objective of strengthening enterprise discipline, institutional readiness, and BRICS-level competitiveness.
Under the leadership of Chair Zulu, BRICS WBA South Africa continues to advance multi-sectoral cooperation — bridging civil society, faith institutions, enterprise ecosystems, and global BRICS markets — in pursuit of sustainable growth, women’s economic leadership, and strengthened international cooperation.
The meeting concluded with agreement to formalise collaboration mechanisms in the lead-up to ECEDM Africa Forum 2026, positioning the church economy as a strategic partner in advancing South Africa’s economic transformation agenda.
