The Ardea International Podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women within the ESG space. Through this series, we aim to showcase the stories and successes of influential women from across sectors who are driving positive change and shaping the future of sustainable business practices. 

This week’s episode features a discussion between Colleen Theron, CEO of Ardea International, and Lea Esterhuizen, Founder of &Wider.  

Lea Esterhuizen is a highly experienced research methodologist with a career spanning since 1996. In 2014, Lea founded &Wider, a company dedicated to making direct worker reporting a cost-effective and accessible reality for suppliers, retailers, and workers. The primary focus of &Wider is to strike a balance between worker participation and structured data, ensuring that workers can effectively communicate with interested parties. The company produces customized analytics for retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, with a unique emphasis on co-designing solutions with workers themselves.  

In the podcast, Colleen find out from Lea what she thinks leads to the success of a business for a decade and delves into the company itself a bit more.  

The discussion then moves to how Due Diligence and forced labour laws have shifted radically across Europe in the last few years which has led to a mixed reaction in business.  Colleen finds out whether Lea believes organisations are equipped to able to keep up with these changes, and what her own challenges are in her field.