Technology for Women in Business (TWIB), was established in 1998, (the year of science and technology), by the Department of Trade and Industry, (the dti) to support the advancement of women in business, through the application of science and technology. TWIB?s mandate is to accelerate women's empowerment and women-owned enterprise development through the facilitation of scientific and technology-based business applications and systems and, in the process, to unlock constraints to enterprise innovation and growth, as well as local and global competitiveness. The programme is championed by the dti's Gender and Women?s Empowerment Unit, headed by Ms. Mmabatho Matiwane. TWIB has also enjoyed the support of the former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, now Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms. Lindiwe Hendriks, and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms. Elizabeth Thabethe. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is contracted by the dti to administer the TWIB programme, and also to provide leadership in identifying technological innovations for various TWIB initiatives.
