Africa-Press – Eswatini. In the past week, on February 8 2024, Women in Trade and Development (WITAD) hosted the first graduation ceremony which resulted in the awarding of 84 young businesswomen in rural areas with certificates of completion.
The women are only a fraction of the approximately 500 women who are a part of WITAD’s rural community-based empowerment programme in the four regions of Eswatini.
The empowerment journey began with presentations of WITAD’s curriculum on Purposeful Living, Wealth Creation, and Entrepreneurship combined with awareness raising on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights in 2022.
Our programme improved from October 2023 to February 2024 when we introduced skills development for young women.
At the graduation, WITAD’s Board Chairperson, Tawonga Gondwe, said that this approach will ensure the attainment of our vision which is a a financially secure and healthy population of girls and women in Eswatini.
She also expressed the organisation’s gratitude to the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), New Zealand High Commission and MTN Foundation which is currently the only private sector partner in Eswatini.
Vocational Skills and Cooperatives
With support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, WITAD implemented a vocational skills and cooperatives programme from October 2023 to February 2024 that resulted in the graduation of 45 young women with certificates in design and sewing.
The women produced school uniforms, which could be sold in bulk. By the graduation date, 42 (93 per cent) of the graduates had already signed up for their multi-purpose cooperative with a constitution, by-laws and membership forms.
They had also elected a committee which would be responsible for overseeing the establishment process. Through this programme, we also equipped 95 women over six days in November 2023 with the know-how of cashflow planning, access to finance requirements, market opportunity mapping, and cooperatives.
With their newly-acquired skills, the women can create opportunities for themselves and be economically productive. By organising themselves into multi-purpose cooperatives, they will avoid negative competition and eliminate the challenges faced by micro-fragmented enterprises that result in either stagnation or business failure.
Through coordinated input purchasing, the cooperative will enhance the efficiency of the women’s businesses by reducing transport costs, input costs, and delivery time. By producing and selling as a collective, the women will access finance and markets within a shorter period.
WITAD will continue to provide technical and, mentoring services as well as market linkage support to the cooperative to manage its risks and enhance its growth and sustainability.
Digital Skills for Business
On the same day, another 39 women who were part of the 40 who registered for the Digital Skills for Business course graduated. This program is supported by the New Zealand High Commission and MTN Foundation.
With these digital skills, the women managed to develop their business plans including cashflow forecasts for three years, CVs and business letters.
They also learned how to use email and the cloud for storing documents. With digital skills, the women will gradually integrate their businesses into the formal economy and even access international trade opportunities.
Some of the notable achievements include the changes that the women have made to their business after analysing their levels of profits or losses for the next three years. We have also observed with great admiration the support that the women have received from their families regarding access to land for agribusiness. Most importantly, all these women can now access more education and e-commerce opportunities by themselves.
We also wish that they can get opportunities to travel to other parts of the world and meet with young entrepreneurs like themselves to get inspiration and unleash their innovation potential.
Chairperson’s Message
Gondwe told the graduates that the next phase of their empowerment journey will involve coordinated production and formal market penetration.
That phase will test their willpower. She stated that the resilience that they have shown will carry them through the challenging experiences and bring them together to celebrate big milestones time and time again.
She told them that their good deeds will attract greater support from our existing partners, government and other stakeholders, who are keen to make a meaningful contribution to girls’ and women’s empowerment.
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