The meetings, which have so far been held in Mutare, Chiredzi, Gokwe, Chinhoyi and Gwanda, are aimed at raising awareness and educating women on how they can deal with the challenges affecting their businesses as they aspire to expand.
Irene Mukarakate, the Vice Chairperson for WABAZ, said the meetings had attracted the attendance of representatives of several women’s organisations, including the Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association, the transport, hotel and catering industries and others from the informal sector.
Informed position
“The meetings are aimed at educating the women and creating networking synergies to give them opportunities to come up with solutions to their challenges from an informed position,” said Mukarakate.
“Some of the women have the solutions to their challenges but there are others whose decisions are a barrier to the growth of their businesses.”
She cited an example where some of the women had argued that they did not want to register their businesses because they did not want to pay tax. She said others had expressed concern at the registration process and how to formalise their businesses.
“There are women who still think that if they register their businesses they are going to make losses because they are then supposed to pay tax,” she said. “These meetings provided an opportunity for the women to learn the advantages and disadvantages of registering.”
According to a report by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, access to financing continues to be a significant impediment to the creation, survival and growth of small businesses.
Impediment
The institution noted that although the role of small firms in innovation and employment was widely acknowledged, small businesses were perceived to have a high risk profile.
“This results in them being charged higher interest rates compared to larger firms, thus unnecessarily increasing operating costs and reducing their competitiveness,” read the report. In addition, management skills in handling finances and other technical requirements are often limited.
Mukarakate said it was important for women to be trained on how they could source financial capital for their business activities and effectively participate in the economy. “The meetings aimed at raising awareness about the importance of women in forming associations and working as groups in order to grow their businesses,” she said. The Mutare meeting was attended by over 40 women while 54 women attended the Chiredzi meeting, including women from church organisations.
Focus groups
As part of the training, the women conducted participatory focus group discussions where they raised some of the challenges that they faced in their various sectors.
“One of the major concerns raised was the issue of capital and the unavailability of information on how women can access financial assistance,” said Mukarakate. “Some complained of the bureaucracy involved in company registration, arguing that government was failing to empower women with knowledge on this issue.”
Last year, WABAZ embarked on the regional consultative town hall meetings in a move aimed at formulating a public policy brief to address gender discrepancies when accessing finances among other challenges.
Mainstream economy
Formed in July 2011 under the auspices of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) for the purposes of connecting female entrepreneurs with the resources necessary to integrate them into mainstream economy, WABAZ is a coalition of women’s business organisations that engages in advocacy on issues affecting female entrepreneurs.
The organisation is the first of its kind and represents over 12,000 informal and formal sector women entrepreneurs throughout the country.
WABAZ aims at supporting them to speak with a unified voice on issues that affect women entrepreneurs, advocating through collective action for policy reforms, and encouraging greater grassroots participation in strengthening economic democracy in Zimbabwe.
Post published in: News