We Connect is proud to host an annual mentorship programme for gender diversity to address the underrepresentation of women in renewable energy in South Africa.
The annual Mentorship Programme is open to female mentees and male and female mentors as we believe it is crucial to involve everyone in this dialogue. All participants hold a current position in the renewable energy across the value chain.
The Programme is designed by KD Strategies and runs annually between May and December - see our LinkedIn page for the next call for applications.
The 2022 We Connect Mentorship Programme is now in full swing and will run for the next 6-months.
We received applications from over 130 applicants with the hope to participate as mentees. Our 2022 co-hort of participants were selected through a candidate screening and value-based pairing process.
The 21 female mentees and 21 male and female mentors will meet for one on one mentee-mentor sessions and online group mentoring touch point sessions facilitated by business coach, Paula Quinsee. The Programme is administered by KD Strategies and Kalnisha and her team ensure that networking is fun and encouraged from the very first interaction.
Keep an eye on our socials to see what the co-hort are getting up to.
In 2021, We Connect launched a pilot mentorship programme for people wanting to contribute to gender diversity in renewable energy. The programme was administered by KD Strategies, specialising in economic development projects, and supported by business coach extraordinaire, Paula Quinsee – all in partnership with SAWEA and SAPVIA.
Our induction session kick started the programme in May 2021 where 11 female and non-binary mentees and 11 male and female mentors embarked on a mentorship journey together. What made this programme different was the involvement of male counterparts as mentors. We believe that everyone needs to play an active role to improve gender diversity, and we especially need our male colleagues to support the efforts.
Mentees and mentors were paired up to meet one-to-one. To create a mentorship network, we hosted touchpoint events attended by all participants where we covered leadership, imposter syndrome, how to have courageous conversations and time management.
The pilot programme concluded in December 2021 and to thank our 22 participants, we planted 22 spekboom in their honour to signify growth rooted in renewable energy.
Success stories from the 2011 co-hort
Early 2022, 100% of Mentees reported to still be in contact with Mentors.
Two participants reported to have received significant access to capital through networks realized in the programme
One participant achieved significant business growth over the past 12 months and credits her mentor for great advice
Five participants changed jobs
18 of the 22 participants remain in regular contact with WE Connect
We are excited to keep building on the success of the pilot WE Connect mentorship programme.