The LinkedIn Connect that Changed the Business of Women’s Sport
In 2006, we started gsport with nothing but belief, purpose, and a dream to tell the positive story of women’s sport.
Our first commercial move came through Clinique early on, through a gsport Newsroom partnership, and later an Awards collaboration. Mostly, gsport was self-funded until Spar stepped in as the first Naming Rights partner in 2012.
In 2019, Momentum elevated us to a whole new level, and for six years we made magic together in advancing women’s sport.
After Momentum came on board as Naming Rights Partner of the gsport Awards, we were on an incredible high. Thirteen years of grit, sacrifice, and relentless storytelling were finally breaking through in the mainstream.
But in the middle of the excitement, one question stopped us cold:
“What is gsport’s true value to the industry?”
That question changed everything. It forced us to look beyond Awards, beyond visibility, beyond celebration. It pushed us to confront the gaps that kept women’s sport from being fully professional, fully funded, fully valued.
Then, in the middle of Covid-19, when the world was shutting down and live sport was virtually non-existent, life did what it always does when you’re asking the right questions: It opened a door. Not through a boardroom. Not through a formal introduction. But through a LinkedIn connection.
I connected with Aamir Suleman, then Head of Sales & Business Development at Henley Business School Africa, and sent him an email, not knowing that pressing “Send” would alter the commercial landscape of women’s sport forever.
Here’s the essence of that email:
I told him about launching gsport in 2006. About building the platform with my husband, from our own pockets, year after year. About the recognition platform endorsed by the Department of Sport. About uncovering role models, growing communities, and flying the flag for women globally. About wanting to scale, but through education, through system change, through something deeper.
Introducing gsport’s Business of Women’s Sport Accolades
The 4th gsport Business Breakfast evolved into a Business Accelerator this year, celebrating the growing…
gsport Hosts Breakthrough Business Accelerator Gathering for Women in Sport
The gsport Business Accelerator at Henley Business School Africa united decision-makers to champion commercial progress…
‘This is Where I Wanted To Be’ – Up and Coming Springbok Women’s Star Leigh Fortuin
Up-and-coming Springbok Women’s Sevens star Leigh Fortuin, who recently helped her side win the Rugby…
‘My Dreams have Kept Me Disciplined’ – Youth Field Athletics Star Chay du Plessis
For self-starter field athlete Chay du Plessis who lauds YouTube as first first coach, the…
Irene Banda is Setting the Esports World Alight at Just 12 Years of Age
Twelve-year-old Irene Banda, SA’s top-ranked female Clash Royale player, is the future of esports, with…
‘Boxing Became Therapy’ – Boxing Champ and Child Abuse Survivor, Simangele Hadebe
Champion fighter and child abuse survivor Simangele Hadebe shares that ‘boxing became a therapy’ that…
Aamir read that email and didn’t brush it aside. He passed it on. And that simple human act put me in touch with Professor Jon Foster-Pedley, the larger-than-life Dean of Henley.
Jon listened. He understood. He backed us. And then he did something more powerful: He introduced us to Dr Julian Day, a leading systems thinker.
Together, we got started on an academic action-learning journey during the chaos and fear of Covid-19. Fifteen industry leaders contributed their insights, expertise, and lived experience. And the result? South Africa’s first Commercial Stairway for Women’s Sport, now known as the #gsportHenley Commercial Stairway.
It became our blueprint. Our compass, and our strategy for system change. A gift that we handed back to the nation through the investment in the first gsport Business Breakfast, back in 2022.
during Covid-19.
This year, the 4th gsport Business Breakfast evolved into a Business Accelerator, the next chapter in this story of collaboration, visibility, and commercial advancement. All from one question, one message, and one connection.
Never underestimate what can happen when you ask the right questions, or when someone opens the right door.
LinkedIn didn’t just spark a meeting. It boosted a movement. And it changed the business of women’s sport forever.
The 4th annual gsport Business Breakfast was proudly supported by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture; Brand South Africa; SABC Sport; Telkom; Henley Business School Africa; Nielsen Sports South Africa; Gallo Images, and Worldwide Sports.
Main Photo Caption: On the occasion of the 4th gsport Business Breakfast and its Business Accelerator theme, gsport Founder Kass Naidoo remembers the launch of gsport in 2006 and innovative partnerships that built it, culminating in a key LinkedIn connection during Covid-19 that birthed the transformative #gsportHenley Commercial Stairway blueprint for system change. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: Dean of the Henley Business School Africa, Professor Jon Foster-Pedley, explains the interplay between elements of the #gsportHenley Commercial Stairway.
Photo 3 Caption: In this file screenshot, Dr Julian Day presents the Stairway to the conference that gave birth to it during Covid-19.
Crédito: Link de origem