Concord Young Women in Business transforms lives

WHEN Ms Nyasha Musavengana founded Concord Young Women in Business in 2017, little did she know that her organisation would transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of women in the country.

She founded the business with the aim of empowering young women and girls aged 18 to 45 and helping them participate actively in the mainstream economy.

The organisation has focused on training women in various sectors such as information communication technology and financial inclusion.

By 2030, it aims to create 10 million entrepreneurs and expand its presence globally.

The group received a silver medal for goat rearing at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair last week and attended the commissioning of Kamativi Lithium Mine by President Mnangagwa.

Ms Rebecca Muchenje, the group’s spokesperson, said any woman between 18 and 45 can join the organisation and undergo various training programmes.

The group believes that empowering a woman means empowering the nation and supports Government programmes to economically empower women.

“We decided to be part of this year’s ZITF to come and showcase the work that we have covered in all sectors that are of interest to women like ICT and goat rearing. Since 2020 we have been doing a lot of ICT training in all 10 provinces in Zimbabwe,” she said.

“We are training women and empowering them, opening up their minds, giving them something to stand for. As long as you know how to work with your hands you can make money because the ultimate goal is for a woman to be empowered,” said Ms Muchenje.

“Our membership is in the hundreds of thousands because we train in all provinces. We came through to the ZITF just to rally more women to register with us and we thank the ZITF for recognising the work that we are doing.

“Winning this award when exhibiting for the first time means a lot to us because we put our all to it. We support the Government of the day and when President Mnangagwa came through with the mantra of leaving no one and no place behind, we said that includes women.

“While the organisation is specifically targeting women, men can contribute by supporting women around them to register. The name ‘Concord Young Women in Business’ means that the business, spearheaded by a woman, must be a start-up,” she said.

Government acknowledges the critical role played by women in the development of the country through the implementation of various programmes meant to empower them such as financial inclusion, access to markets and capacity building.

Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work is key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5. The Government is also taking concrete steps to economically empower women.

-@ncubeleon