adminIBWO has already held meetings with women in Manicaland and Matabeleland North provinces to sensitise the women about the indigenisation and empowerment initiative.
The countrywide tours will also include training of women in various technical aspects of business including management of finance and the importance of repaying loans.
The initiative comes as IBWO has demanded the equal inclusion and participation of women in Government’s indigenisation and empowerment programmes. The women’s advocacy grouping said it was critical for the country to achieve economic freedom after political freedom was attained in 1980.
IBWO president Dr Jane Mutasa said their initiative follows support from President Mugabe that women should have equal opportunities as men in empowerment and indigenisation.
“Last week we were in Mutare, Manicaland Province and the aim and objective was to talk to women on indigenisation and empowerment. We want to make sure that whatever happens in indigenisation and empowerment, women are not left out,” said Dr Mutasa.
“Information is power. Without information nobody will be able to know what is happening. That (access to information) is what we want to address,” she said.
The crusade comes, said Dr Mutasa, as Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere is working on an empowerment fund she hopes will help women in a big way.
“We are very grateful that Minister Kasukuwere is planning to introduce a facility that would also enable the women to access bigger loans to support their various business activities,” said Dr Mutasa.
Presently, women across the country are only able to access small loans through a facility IBWO organised with CBZ Bank. The women are accessing the loans without collateral.
But IBWO is working on a number of funding initiatives and could soon secure facilities with two banks for bigger loans to women, as it believes that “empowering women is as good as empowering the nation”.
“We want empowerment to be spread right down to the grassroots and to include all the women,” said IBWO.
Online Reporter