Discovering the People Behind the Work: WE4D Programme Manager Visits South Africa

What makes a programme truly work—the strategy, or the people behind it?

When the Employment Promotion for Women for the Green Transformation in Africa – (WE4D) Programme Manager Romina Kochius spent a week in South Africa, her visit focused on getting to know and understanding the people, partnerships, and progress shaping the programme on the ground.

Having recently returned to Head Office after many years in the field, Romina approached the visit with fresh curiosity—seeking to stay connected with on-the-ground implementation realities and experience impact through the eyes of those driving it daily.

Her journey began in Ga-Kibi, a rural community in Limpopo, where she met Avo Vision—a social enterprise empowering communities through skills development and entrepreneurship—alongside the Ga-Kibi Potato Project farmers and local biomass beneficiation and charcoal production initiatives.

Beyond presentations and updates, what stood out most was the strong connection between the team and the community, demonstrating how the work translates into tangible local livelihoods.

Across her engagements, Romina spent time with the teams behind WE4D in South Africa—those coordinating and implementing efforts across the programme’s three projects, including Investing in Young Businesses in Africa Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Development (IYBA-SEED) and Skills for Youth Employability, Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (S4Y) in Eswatini. These interactions offered a closer look at how collaboration, commitment, and local knowledge come together to move the programme forward.

In a session with Mesopartner, a consultancy supporting inclusive economic development and stronger local entrepreneurial ecosystems under the IYBA-SEED Weaver Approach, the focus shifted to how complex methodologies are experienced in practice. Acknowledging the strength and innovation of the approach, Romina encouraged the team to communicate what the programme is solving for and why it matters.

Reflecting on the teams she encountered, Romina shared: “Gavin has put together a robust team. It’s great to see the passion behind the programme and how well thought out it is. The team is doing a great job.”

This sentiment was further reinforced during her visit to WomHub in Rivonia, where she engaged with the incubator team supporting women entrepreneurs in STEM and attended the “Pitch to Purse, Give to Gain” event, where female founders pitched for USD 15,000 investments—showcasing how the ecosystem directly enables access to finance.

Engagements with Plastics SA, an umbrella industry body promoting sustainable plastics use and recycling, further highlighted the programme’s reach. The ISOW (Integrated Sustainable Waste Outcomes) project presented plans to unlock value from waste in the Bushbuckridge Municipal area (aiming on replicating this model in other municipalities), linking environmental solutions with economic opportunity. 

By the end of the visit, one theme stood out clearly: impact is not only measured in outputs, but in the people driving the work and the communities they serve.

Romina closed her visit by encouraging teams to continue telling these stories—making the people, progress, and purpose behind the programme even more visible and felt.