Our Programmes

Micro Finance Programme

WDB Micro Finance (WDB MF) is a microcredit programme replicating the world-renowned Grameen Bank philosophy of banking on poor women. It is the flagship beneficiary programme of the Group. Click here for a detailed overview of this programme and our achievements to date.

ICT Programme

The ICT programme for rural women is intended to assist in bridging the digital divide between urban and rural communities. The ICT program consists of a computer based mother tongue literacy course and a computer skills course.

The programme’s centerpiece project is the Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL) project which is a programme adapted from a Tata Foundation innovation to teach functional literacy to adults in 12 weeks.

In 2002 the WDB Trust obtained the intellectual property rights to the computer based functional literacy program and software which is known as the Computer Based Functional Literacy Programme from the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in India. TCS granted the WDB Trust a non exclusive license to use the software in South Africa and other countries in Africa. The purpose of obtaining the license was to enable WDB Trust to improve adult literacy amongst rural women in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa.

The WDB Trust approached the Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) among other South African technology development institutions, for support on the translation and adaptation of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) programme into an indigenous language in South Africa. In 2002 a TCS team led by Dr F C Kohli visited South Africa to ensure that the adaptation of the program to South African languages would be effected. The CSIR was included in the team to which TCS provided technical assistance on the technology transfer to WDB Trust.

The CBFL programme teaches functional literacy to adult women in 10-12 weeks.

The program is available in the following languages – Tsonga, Zulu, Sepedi.

WDB has achieved the following with the programme:

• WDB has further developed the CBFL programme to include an introduction to computers.
• The first African language to be developed for this programme is SePedi. During 2005 over 200 women obtained functional literacy in SePedi.

The programme was tested with illiterate women in Soweto. The test in an urban context generated enormous excitement because it has demonstrated that in partnership with other NGOs and CBOs this programme can immediately benefit illiterate women throughout South Africa.

The CBFL has since been rolled out at ten ICT centers:

• Mpumalanga – Lilydale, Cottondale,Sumerset, Urningmore
• KZN – Zamimpilo, Kwamsane, Kula.
• Limpopo – Giyane, Elim

The enthusiasm of the women who have completed the CBFL program is awe inspiring.

Business Development Skills Programme

The BDS programme seeks to build the business skills of the women who have embarked on income generating activities through WDB Micro Finance. This program also seeks to identify and provide practical marketing experiences or opportunities for rural women. The programme has trained over 1, 400 women in basic business concepts.

The integration of the business skills program with the developmental micro credit program is intended to be the catalyst for rural wealth creation. The program has used the opportunity of our annual celebration of Client’s Day to provide a marketing opportunity for the micro entrepreneurs to exhibit their products to each other and to the corporate friends of WDB who annually attend the function. The Clients’ Day exhibition allows the program staff to practically teach business principles of quality control, pricing, stocking, marketing, and selling.

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