WEDO facilitates entrepreneurial training for 90 women entrepreneurs

Women Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) has facilitated a one week long training workshop for 90 women from small and medium business enterprises. The Entrepreneurship Day Organization collaborated with Homelink Finance for sponsorship and Great Zimbabwe University for the course modules.

The participants drawn from both rural and urban business environments were trained in aspects of initiating, running and growing a business through topics such as Business Plan writing, Record Keeping, Business Communication and Marketing.

WEDO Zimbabwe Ambassador Angeline Mikiri said the training workshop is part of WEDO’s 2019 calendar of programs.

‘As WEDO, part of our mandate is to be a forum where women can come together and collectively tackle issues of financial inclusion through advocacy and training in financial literacy.  We observed that most of our members are not able to grow their enterprises beyond cottage levels due to lack of access to financial support. In other words, they have brilliant business ideas and the skills to back them up but lack training on how to package their ideas in a language or layout that bankers can understand. This training was designed to give participants exposure to various skills required in bringing an idea into life or taking an existing business to a higher level. A unique dimension to the workshop has been the delivery of concepts in vernacular to cater for our members with limited exposure to the English language and we remain appreciative of the sponsorship from Homelink,’ said Mikiri.

Homelink Marketing Manager Tendai Rafemoyo said the financial services company is on a nationwide drive to empower women.

‘Our aim is to cover all ten provinces in the country. We seek to empower women, as you know if you educate a woman you would have educated the nation. We have equipped them with relevant business skills and now they know how to come up with bankable business proposals,’ she said.

The Entrepreneurial Training Workshop is part of a series of programmes on WEDO’s 2019 calendar. Other milestones for the year include initiatives towards popularizing biogas for rural women as well as advocating the inclusion of women’s projects in the distribution of investment space around the Tokwe Mukosi Dam. 

‘We are trailing the processes of distributing the investment space around Tugwi-Mukosi. Our Interest as WEDO is to ensure that women get their fair share of the cake. The support from Government in this regard has been tremendous but more needs to  be done ensure that information on procedures for participation is made available in forums and languages understood by all,’ Angeline added.

Masvingo’s Provincial Minister of State, Hon Ezra Chadzamira, in a speech read on his behalf, called on the trainees to actively participate in the unfolding realities around the Tugwi Mukosi Dam.

‘The Tugwi -Mukosi investment ecosystem is translating into reality and as government we encourage women to occupy space in those investment arenas. In order to efficiently exploit such avenues, it is also important for women to take up educational programs to improve on financial literacy. Alternatively for sustainable knowledge transfer I urge women to venture into linkages with large corporates. This will give small businesses exposure to corporate etiquette.’`