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With the exception of the global financial crisis and the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economy is showing the weakest growth profile since 2001, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Global economic activity is experiencing a broad-based and sharper-than-expected slowdown, with inflation higher than seen in several decades. The cost-of-living crisis, tightening financial conditions in most regions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the lingering Covid-19 pandemic all weigh heavily on the outlook of the economy.
Revenue losses brought about by power cuts are estimated to be around R700 million daily, which compromises the ability to create and sustain jobs and businesses.
The side hustle era
A global research study commissioned by Avon, a personal care, cosmetics and makeup brand, brings into the spotlight the impact of the rising cost of living on the livelihood of women worldwide.
The findings come from a global study of women across eight countries and three continents. A huge 98% of women globally have been affected by the cost-of-living crisis, with over half of women feeling anxious about the future (57%), and over a third of women feeling out of control when it comes to finances (35%) and guilty that they can't provide enough for their family (34%).
Over half of these women (54%) are doing so to help pay their bills. One in three women (36%) want to be able to afford the little luxuries they used to have, such as takeaway meals, coffee and new clothes. A fifth of women (21%) want to continue being able to buy their favourite beauty products.
A winning side hustle
“We have been at the forefront of harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit of millions of women around the world and giving them the earnings opportunity for decades,” says Mafahle Mareletse, managing director for Avon Turkey, Middle East and Africa.
One such testimony is that of Maureen Ndlovu, a Master's Degree graduate with a decorated career in public health. Ndlovu had been an avid user of Avon’s beauty and fragrance products 18 years ago but was not aware that she could earn extra income by selling the very products that she loved and swore by.
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“The idea of becoming an Avon representative was introduced to me by an Avon business owner who sold me the brand’s beauty products at the time,” notes Ndlovu.
“Being an educated professional with a well-to-do career, I was sceptical to enlist because I had the idea of door-to-door sales, cold calling and being a nuisance to people in my mind - but I was wrong.”
Eventually, Ndlovu became a business owner, meaning her business had grown to a level where she could recruit new representatives under her portfolio, further increasing her sales and income-earning opportunities.
Over the years, Ndlovu was able to settle her university student debt, manage her lifestyle without needing an overdraft or credit card, buy property in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs and take her grandchildren to some of the best private schools in the province. She says she is enjoying financial freedom, thanks to her entrepreneurial journey in the beauty industry.
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“I’ve witnessed the lives of other women changing and improving significantly as well from the opportunities facilitated by being a beauty entrepreneur,” elaborates Ndlovu. “It’s also been pleasing to see the adaptation of the traditional way of doing business to e-commerce. This transition has been embraced by everyone.
