Chronicle Editor
Flora Fadzai Sibanda, [email protected]
THE Minister of Women’s Affairs Community Small to Medium Enterprises Development, Monica Mutsvangwa, is today expected to headline the second edition of the Open Day Market and Exhibition in Bulawayo, a platform aimed at celebrating women’s entrepreneurship.
The exhibition is organised by the Organisation of Women in International Trade (Owit) Zimbabwe Chapter in partnership with Ecobank Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small to Medium Enterprises Development.
The inaugural exhibition, geared at empowering women, was held in Harare last year.
By Wednesday, the exhibition had attracted 146 businesswomen from the host city, who had registered to participate.
In a statement, Ecobank said the Open Market Day and Exhibition is a celebration of the entrepreneurship spirit that strives within Zimbabwean women and provides a platform for these women-led or women-owned businesses to display their array of products to the public.
“This initiative is in line with Ecobank’s commitment to improving women’s agency, namely their ability to define goals and act on them, a crucial factor for advancing gender equality, equity and economic empowerment, the cornerstone of the Ellevate Programme, ‘Ellevate by Ecobank,’” said the bank.
Ellevate by Ecobank is designed to address the unique challenges faced by women-owned and women-led businesses, providing them with accessible banking services and the financial support necessary to grow and sustain their enterprises.
Minister Mutsvangwa said: “The event cannot come at a much better time than this, especially after celebrating International Women’s Month, highlighting the importance of continuing the momentum of supporting women’s initiatives beyond just one month of celebration.”
Participants will be exhibiting in categories ranging from mining, processing sector and agriculture.
Ms Buhlebenkosi Nyathi, the founder of House of Organic Foods and the president of Owit, said by Wednesday, 146 businesswomen had registered from Bulawayo, 23 from Gweru and 30 from Harare.
“Registration has been going well. We are now close to having 200 women who have successfully registered,” she said.
Ms Nyathi said the participants were expected to start pitching stalls yesterday.
She said today they would be grouping the businesses in different clusters, putting each businesswoman in the category they operate under, so that when they are exhibiting their products there is order.
She added that there has been an overwhelming response from women and expressed confidence that the exhibition will be a success.
“It’s humbling to see how women in business are showing hunger of wanting to grow and expand their ventures. We urge other women who have not registered yet, to do so and come in numbers, so they can also benefit from this fair.
“However, this is not just for women, even men can come and support us by buying from the stalls, so that businesses for these women may grow,” said Ms Nyathi.
The main activities of the exhibition include financial literacy classes aimed at equipping women entrepreneurs with the knowledge to navigate their financial journey successfully.
Added to that, it is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to explore financing options and advice on business growth. —@flora_sibanda
Online Reporter