JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A two-week training program for women entrepreneurs opened in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday, with more than 60 participants recruited to strengthen business skills and explore new cooperation opportunities.
About 100 representatives from Chinese and South African business, education and media sectors, together with trainees, attended the opening ceremony. The South Africa workshop is part of the Global Female Entrepreneurs Empowerment Program (GFEEP), a capacity-building initiative led by Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Speaking at the event, former African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma thanked China for organizing the training and stressed the importance of women's participation in Africa's development.
She said countries cannot realize their full potential without fully tapping women's talent and capabilities, and encouraged the trainees to seize the opportunity to learn from China's development experience and strengthen their businesses.
"We have to build the Africa we want," Dlamini-Zuma said.
Xu Jianhao, general manager of China Construction Bank's Johannesburg branch, which supported the workshop, said China-Africa economic and trade cooperation holds enormous potential and offers abundant opportunities for entrepreneurs.
"Women's economic power is playing an increasingly vital role in this process," Xu said.
Wei Dongze, secretary-general of the South Africa-China Economic and Trade Association, said stronger links between Chinese companies and South African businesses could deepen mutual understanding and open up more opportunities for cooperation.
He said the association welcomes South African businesses, including women-led enterprises, to engage with its members and explore partnerships based on trust, mutual benefit and shared growth.
Three South African women entrepreneurs who previously attended GFEEP training programs in China also shared their experiences at the ceremony. They said the training had deepened their understanding of business management and commercial cooperation while helping them expand business networks and explore new partnerships.
The South Africa workshop forms part of GFEEP's Africa-focused training initiative, which has been incorporated into the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027) and selected as a featured program of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.
