NEWS ANALYSIS: Nthabeleng Likotsi takes first steps towards women-owned bank

Nthabeleng Likotsi is resolute. The 33-year-old — who on Friday was joined by about 100 women in marching to the Reserve Bank — believes there is ample room for a women-owned mutual bank to serve the black market. "There is a gap for banks that understand black entrepreneurs in particular, because the culture and behaviour is completely different. We know the challenges, this is what we live and breathe every day," Likotsi, who grew up in an entrepreneurial family in the Free State, told Business Day. No stranger to new business initiatives, she founded the Young Women in Business Network (YWBN) in 2009 to facilitate women empowerment. Friday’s march from the Union Buildings was aimed at raising awareness of the need to accelerate transformation and financial freedom. "The conversation must carry on. Legislation still has to be changed … at least now the doors are opened," she says.YWBN’s path to becoming a mutual bank, which took a major step when it submitted its licence applicati...