Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo – [email protected]
WOMEN continue to show their capabilities in different aspects of the economy as they are able to produce quality products suitable for the export market.
Their capabilities are being hindered by lack of appeal as their products are not properly packaged and branded to attract the export market, an expert has said.
ZimTrade export packaging consultant Mr Andrew Daka said by lacking branding and packaging skills, women end up struggling to sell the products which are supposed to sell themselves through the product appearance to customs.
He said this at the recently held three-day Next She Exporter training in Bulawayo.
“What we have observed for a long time is that, women have got good products, by virtue of their creation, they have quality products, but what is lacking is they sell the product not the brand,” said Mr Daka.
“So, what we are doing now is to teach them how to brand their products and ensure that they align to the standard guidelines for labelling and marking as this is what is required by the export market.
“We need to inform our consumers, so a lot of these things are not seen in these small businesses because they do not have standards and these standards might not be the audited standards but general standards which regards packaging.”
In 2021, ZimTrade launched the revolutionary Next She Exporter programme, which sought to train women entrepreneurs for export readiness.
The Next She Exporter programme is a ZimTrade initiative designed to empower women-owned businesses in exports by providing them with comprehensive technical and financial capacity, from local and international experts.
Close to 300 women across the country have benefited from the programme with some already exporting to the region and beyond.
Mr Daka said they have been training women to have bar codes, QR codes and production registers amongst others so that they can be able to give enough information to their customers as well as track back their products.
In an interview with some of the beneficiaries of the programme Ms Cathrine Dzwene said the Next She Exporter is helping them to create visions for their businesses which they want to accomplish so that they realise more value.
She said creating business structures and processes has been a challenge for small businesses especially for women.
“Having a programme like this that gives us an opportunity to learn on how to structure our businesses and processes, how to collaborate with others and how to become best exporters will help us as women as we have the best people to learn from,” she said.
The platform also provides an opportunity for women to network and create synergies which can improve their export capacities.
Mrs Sinqobile Demadema from Wezesha industries said the training is mind blowing as it has been able to provide them with critical information, exceeding what they expected when they joined the programme.
“There were a lot of misconceptions with regard to the practical aspect of the export journey,” said Mrs Demadema.
“Also, having a programme which is women centered is very helpful because we are able to ask where we don’t understand and practical discussions have not just focused on intangible things but we had very practical discussion which helped to strengthen our business foundation.
“It also gave us networking platforms where I have managed to get access to some services I needed as a business woman that I didn’t know where to get them.”
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