Flow Communications helped fuel the business dreams of many female entrepreneurs when the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women brought us on board to work on an impactful campaign.
Together with the foundation, we rolled out HerVenture, a free mobile learning app designed to support women in low- and middle-income brackets. It equips them with the knowledge to start or grow their businesses, connects them with fellow entrepreneurs, and provides essential tools for commercial success. Users can access advice on accounting, marketing, business plan development and funding applications. Best of all, the app works offline, making it accessible at no data cost.
The campaign targeted women entrepreneurs in South Africa, particularly those in the informal sector, who often face multiple barriers to business success. To meet the women where they are, digitally and physically, Flow adopted a two-pronged approach.
Firstly, we used digital marketing via Meta and Google to raise awareness of HerVenture among women already searching for resources online. Secondly, we facilitated face-to-face engagement with communities in peri-urban areas, helping them to overcome digital literacy barriers and building trust in the app.
The campaign unfolded in three phases over eight months:
- Phase one piloted live app demonstrations through township-based engagement specialists, while running digital ads to raise awareness
- Phase two used data insights from phase one to refine digital targeting
- Phase three aligned eye-catching images with inspirational messaging such as “New year, new you” to drive engagement and sustain interest
The campaign really took off with our community-based training. These in-person sessions turned digital interest into confident use of the app, while also generating key behavioural insights, which Flow used to sharpen messaging and tailor content to the target market.
“The beauty of the collaboration with the Cherie Blair Foundation lay in its flexible, interactive approach,” says Sarah-Jane Viljoen, Flow’s joint head of project management. “We were reaching a low-income, digitally underserved audience, and that meant adaptability was everything. There was no one-size-fits-all model; success depended on being responsive and creative.”
The HerVenture campaign proved that social change can be achieved through inclusive technology and relevant strategy if you have the right partners. By the end of the campaign in early 2025, Flow had helped to create a broader ecosystem of support for South African women entrepreneurs, with more than 10 000 app registrations by existing and aspiring women entrepreneurs and 60 600 downloads.
Importantly, the campaign also helped to close gaps in infrastructure and access to opportunities. It offered women in the target group a real chance to learn vital business skills – from marketing to money management – in a simple, offline-friendly format.
“Flow Communications delivers expert services in digital marketing and has become an important partner to the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women,” says Lulu Nunn, the foundation’s head of communications and marketing. “We would recommend their services without hesitation.”
