Female professionals database on cards

Women’s University in Africa Professor Hope Sadza has said.
Prof Sadza was speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by women empowerment organisation Woman Excel in Harare last week.

“Zimbabwe’s women empowerment groups are in the process of setting up a database of female professionals as a key mechanism to reach a target of 30 percent females in leadership positions by 2015.

“By February, the database will be fully operational such that if positions arise in Government or the private sector then we can tap into it,” she said.
The women empowerment drive emerges from an earlier signing of the Southern Africa Development Community Protocol on Gender and Development raising state commitment from the 30 percent agreed in 1997 to 50 percent.

Nonetheless, the Zimbabwean Government said it had committed itself to reaching the 30 percent target by 2015 due to a lack of qualified women to take up the positions.
Prof Sadza highlighted that the establishment of the Women’s University in Africa had been borne out of the need to capacitate more women to take up higher positions in both Government and the private sector.

According to Prof Sadza, phase one of the construction of the university’s campus requires around US$7,5 million, with the institution already having secured US$2,4 million from the African Capacity Building Foundation.

Meanwhile, Kingdom Financial Holdings Ltd founder Mr Nigel Chanakira said one of his subsidiaries, Success Motivation Institute (SMI), would be working in partnership with Woman Excel in offering a 10-week-long female mentorship programme.

“For every mentorship programme sold, 10 percent of the proceeds will go towards the operations of Woman Excel,” he said.
Mr Chanakira announced plans by his bank to extend loans to members of the Woman Excel from next year, indicating that already “40 percent of micro-borrowers are women”.
He also urged successful women to replicate themselves in others.

“It is critical to develop women who will become mentors of others. There’s nothing like been mentored by someone who has been through the walk,” he said.
The point was reiterated by Unilever managing director Ms Nancy Guzha.
“When you have achieved your success, it is important that you set up other women for success,” she said.