The South African Women’s Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong is open to women and men who share the organisation’s vision and mission of building bridges between China and South Africa’s youth and women. 

This dynamic organisation welcomes anyone who can assist with their existing projects, or who would like to initiate a new project that matches it’s vision and mission.

Lizette Smook, the founder and CEO, wrote to tell us about some of the exciting activities they have lined up:

1.  24 March  (Thursday at 8am.)

SAWCC guest Corinne Heijn address the Women of Influence (WOI) in the Amcham Boardroom – please book directly on by clicking Here

Corinne will be having dinner with some prominent women at the China Club on Tuesday night 22 March. Please contact Lizette Smook if you are interested in attending.

2.  23 March:

Rugby Sevens Dinner – please contact Bruce Fowler at the SAAHK for possible late availability of tickets. Morne du Plessis is the guest speaker.

3.  24-27 March (Friday – Sunday) 

Hong Kong Sevens Rugby (Hong Kong Stadium)

4.  April

Digital art exhibition from South African photographers at the HKAPA – Details will be on the SAWCCHK website soon

5.  April 2011:

South African National Day Celebrations

6.  May 12th

Special invitation from the ROSL – Lunchtime talk at Hong Kong Club by the new Hong Kong Commissioner of Police.

7.  May 23rd

Africa Week BBQ dinner at the Peak residence of our dear Branch Patron, the South African Consul-General. Details & booking form to follow, soon.

8.  August / September 2011

South African Family Braai

 For the latest updates on the activities above, or for information on the SAWCC HK, Click Here 

A former Matie, Lizette Smook is an executive member of the South Africa Women’s Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) and was featured in last Sunday’s Sunday Morning Post Magazine, a local English daily newspaper.

In 2008 a group of Hong Kong-based South African business women met to discuss ways of supporting the entrepreneurial spirit of young people and women in business and how to build a cultural bridge between South Africa and China.  Smook was instrumental in this gettogether and the outcome was the formation of the South Africa Women’s Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong).

Lizette Smook is also the founder and CEO of Innovasians, a development and manufacturing company located in Hong Kong since 2007.

This is what the Sunday Morning Post Magazine had to say:

Who?

Lizette Smook’s mission is to make innovative products from materials most people would discard, such as dinner plates from rice husks, towels from plastic bottles and bed sheets from bamboo. Smook founded her company, Innovasians, three years ago in Hong Kong to help companies become greener and cleaner.

Why are the products unique?

Her handsome beige dishes and cutting boards are crafted from the skin of rice husks, which are bound with bio-resin and then heat-compressed. They are reusable, biodegradable and microwave safe.

Bamboo fibres can be harvested to make fabric for bed sheets, says Smook, who studied science in South Africa, where she was born. Bamboo is ideal for mass production because it grows extremely quickly, requires no pesticides and uses only 33 per cent of the water that cotton production requires.

Her non-snag towels (pictured) are made from organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles and are, according to Smook, more durable than conventional towels.

Another fabric gaining international recognition is e-leather.

“Traditionally, the leather that is harvested from cows comes from their backs because that is where the thickness and grain is most consistent,” Smook says. “The rest is discarded and thrown into landfills, where it produce copious amounts of methane gas.”

E-leather is leather that has been broken down into a fibre form, using hydro-electricity. It is then reconstructed to reduce waste.

“It is leather – only it doesn’t stretch like leather. It’s easy to clean, more durable, tear-resistant and lighter,” Smook says. “[India's] Jet Airways used the fabric in their seats and found they were 40 per cent lighter.”

Why did she jump from working for mass producers such as Nike and Next to founding a sustainable design company? ”

Actually, that was the impetus – when you see the impact on the environment that cheap, disposable fashion has, you realise that trends come and go, but the fabric and pollution created from producing these textiles lingers,” Smook says.

Where are her products used?

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts uses the rice dinnerware in its staff canteens and for guests with babies. Hong Kong hairdresser Emmanuel F uses the towels.

Sources: SCMP, SAWCC(Hong Kong) and Innovasians

The South Africa Women’s Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) or SAWCC proudly hosted its second breakfast seminar of the year.

The speakers were a South African husband and wife – Petrus and Cathy Carstens and the topic was ‘A Winning Mindset’. Petrus, a successful international businessman, and Cathy, a top international cyclist present all over the world and it was indeed a privilege to be able to listen to them speak.

Cathy had the audience enthralled with her stories of how she won the international cycling championship, despite being a number of years older than her competitors and having been told that she will never ride competitively again after a car accident.

Petrus followed with an in-depth and interesting explanation about how the brain works and reacts to different situations (using the example of how he walked over hot coals) and how leveraging that knowledge will help create a winning mindset

The SAWCC would like to take this opportunity to thank Petrus and Cathy for their time and insights and we look forward to welcoming them back in the future.

For more information about the South Africa Women’s Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) visit them here

In May 2008 a number of dynamic expatriate South African ladies got together at the South African Consulate in Hong Kong.  Among the issues that were discussed on the day was a general interest by some of the ladies to assist with the exchange of internees from South African universities and companies to work in Hong Kong.

One thing led to another and after much planning and meetings, the Consulate sponsored two business-women who travelled to South Africa where they spoke to universities as well as companies about what was proposed for the development of successful young South African and Chinese business people and entrepreneurs.

The ladies futher decided to house this project independent of, but with the full support of the Consulate.  This led to the establishment of the fully constituted South African Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong  (SAWCC of HK) by the founding members Lizette Smook, Tembi Tambo and Charmaine Kleu.

The South African Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong

In short, the SAWCC of HK aims to promote sound relations with business, government and other relevant organisations in Hong Kong and to promote trade, tourism and investment between South Africa and Hong Kong.

Various community-building events for the broader South African community in Hong Kong are also being planned.  More details will of course be published right here on Howzit-HongKong.  

During a recent meeting at the Consulate, Ms Tambo reiterated her belief that there are many South Africans living in Hong Kong who share the vision of the Chamber and who have specific skills that can be used to the benefit of the Chamber.  For this reason, she would like to invite anyone interested in joining the SAWCC of HK to contact Lizette Smook to learn more or to find out when the next meeting will be held. Lizette can be reached via e-mail on:

lizette(dot)smook(at)gmail(dot)com  

The SAWCC of HK has different levels of membership so do contact Lizette to find out which one is best for you or your company.  Best of all, in addition to the excellent networking opportunities, membership of the SAWCC of HK comes with a host of benefits.  There are so many that it’s impossible to list them all here.  Expect though, to find:

* Facial vouchers worth at least HK$1000

* Conrad Hotel discount vouchers

* discount on California Fitness membership

* Numerous restaurant discount vouchers, etc.

You can also download and print an application form here