Mangwendeza joined YALE University under the United States Students
Achievers Programme and graduated with a degree in Women’s Gender and
Sexuality Studies this year.
The USAP is a higher education programme for low-income young people.

The former Dominican Convent student said Zimbabwe could learn a lot from women empowerment programmes run
in the USA.
The Boston Centre for Women Entrepreneurs provided the motivation for Mangwendeza to push for the empowerment of
women in Zimbabwe.
“I learnt a lot from that organisation. The centre is playing a
critical role in the empowerment of women in the USA and receives
support from both the government and the corporate sector. So while I
was still in the U.S.A, I asked myself if something like this could
be done in Zimbabwe and my answer was yes.
“My focus is developing micro entrepreneurs by sharing ideas of how they can develop their businesses as well as how they can
get access to finances to boost their businesses,” said Mangwendeza.
She challenged Zimbabwean women to let go of the dependency
syndrome and look for home grown solutions to their
challenges.
“The most important lesson I learnt in the USA is that the widely
held belief among Zimbabwean women that we have to wait for assistance
from elsewhere is wrong. What I learnt is that if you identify a
problem that you want changed, it is up to you to address that
problem.
“I have set my sights on creating an African Leadership Academy
which will focus on grooming women leaders, either in politics or
business,” said Mangwendeza.
She said that Zimbabwean women had great potential to contribute
towards the growth of the country’s economy.
“In the US, there is so much support being given to
women entrepreneurs and I think the same should be done in
Zimbabwe,” said Mangwendeza. She challenged men to support the economic empowerment of women.
“I think for some of these things to succeed, both men and women need
to be working together and it’s important that men realise that the
economic empowerment of women is good for the country,” said
Mangwendeza.
Post published in: News