Intern-Cheryl Schultz

I was born and grew up in Zambia, but moved to Canada in 1997. During my time in
Canada, however, I never lost my passion for Africa and the vision of seeing it as a
thriving member of the global marketplace. Not only am I enthusiastic about Africa's
development in the global market, but also about the advancement of the individual
African and the inequalities that plague many of them, whether they be inequalities
between rich and poor, male and female or different racial groups.

The initial part of my internship was hosted by the Gender and Women's Empowerment
(GWE) Unit at the Department of Trade and Industry. While at the GWE, I had the
opportunity to attend many workshops and conferences that focused on the role of the
South African businesswoman in international trade. I also assisted as part of a team in
planning and carrying-out the provincial and national consultation workshops on the
Strategic Framework on Gender and Women's Economic Empowerment. This gave me
the opportunity to network with businesswomen from all across South Africa. Much of
my work included surveying South African women entrepreneurs, as well as future
ones, with the aim of establishing what they need in order to become thriving members
of the global marketplace and ensure that CAABWA provides them with services that
are relevant. The latter part of my internship was done at the Johannesburg Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. There my main responsibility was building the content of the
ACCESS! web portal for South Africa.

All in all, my time in South Africa provided me with invaluable experiences and allowed
me to make excellent contacts in the international development field.