50MAWS Platform to help connect Tanzanian business women to much needed markets
East African Community Secretariat, 22nd March, 2019:The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50MWS) is working with different stakeholders to help solve the various issues that women in business face, including access to finance.
On the 21st March 2019, a 4-member delegation from the East African Community Secretariat together with two Officers from the Tanzanian Ministries in charge of East African Affairs and the Ministry responsible for Gender paid a visit to women empowerment organisations in Dar es Salaam.
The objective of this field visit was for the project to understand better how these organisations operate so as to enable the 50MWS Project forge partnerships around the women economic empowerment agenda.
Access to capital coupled with capacity building have proven to be key to increased production in Tanzanian women business networks.
“The increased production is a result of joint efforts between Government institutions and civil society organisations as well as the private sector organizations” explaieds John Mapunda, Gender Expert in the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children in the United Republic of Tanzania. He added that the Government has initiated several economic empowerment funds targeting mostly women.
For efficiency purposes, the Government of Tanzania also put in a place a National Economic Empowerment Council, to coordinate the said Funds. These Government Funds disburse yearly loans of billions of Tanzania shillings to women in business who have come together in associations at the grassroot level.
In the last four years, an total of 6.2 billion Tanzanian shillings was awarded to 4,500 members by only one Fund, the Presidential Trust Fund, explained Haigath Kitala, Chief Executive Officer of the Fund.
The Chief Executive Officer noted that the loans awarded by these Government Funds were collateral free and charge low interest rates, adding that the only guarantee requested from association members is to guarantee one another as group members.
After loans are disbursed, Funds authorities equip borrowers with skills needed to operate efficiently in their respective sectors. Social workers have been deployed at grassroot level by the Government to train borrowers. In addition to these Government Funds, Civil Society Organisations networks chip in by building capacity of women in business.
The civil society equips women businesses with skills that include but are not limited to financial literacy, knowledge on how to develop business plans, entrepreneurship, national and international business regulations and marketing skills.
On top of that, civil society networks also help the loan beneficiaries to establish linkages with potential buyers of their products.
Women in business have started investing in food processing, water industry, poultry, Agriculture and horticulture among others.
“The impact of the Government Funds is already tangible in terms of women economic empowerment. However, there is a need to connect women entrepreneurs to markets and to continue building their capacity,” said Haigath Kitala.
“One of the issues that the 50MWS Project aims to achieve is to increase access to information on trade finance as well as markets for women’s products,” Wilson Muyenzi, 50 MWS Project Coordinator explained to leaders of the different women economic empowerment organisations visited.
The field visit was followed by a meeting on the 22nd March 2019 that brought together representatives from State organizations and programmes, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations and UN Women.
EAC Director of Social Sector, Mary Makoffu, explained at the meeting that the 50MWS Project was initiated to help address key development challenges that women-owned businesses face.
Those include access to finance, information and opportunities relevant to their businesses as well as creating important business networks.
The Director congratulated women economic empowerment networks for the support they are extending to women in business in terms of capacity building.
“The know-how is critical if we want our women to succeed,” Director Makoffu concluded.
Women economic empowerment networks present at the meeting appreciated the initiative which they find to be coming to complement already existing efforts geared towards women economic empowerment and pledged their commitment to work with the EAC to deliver the project.
They expressed their hope to see the platform helping women in business to access finance and to be connected to markets by the information the platform will provide.
-ENDS-
For more information please contact:
Achel Bayisenge,
Content Manager for the 50MWS Project
Tel: +255 786726230;
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified
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