Chronicle Editor
Kiyapili Sibanda, Business Reporter
WOMEN entrepreneurs have been urged to take advantage of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) model to invest and grow their businesses.
Speaking during a business consultative workshop in Bulawayo on Friday, AfÂfirÂmaÂtive AcÂtion Group (AAG) regional chair for women, Mrs Sanele Hanana, said the participation of women in SEZs was crucial for the economy.
A SEZ is an area in which business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country.
SEZs are located within a country’s national borders, and their aims include: increased trade, increased investment, job creation and effective administration.
Mrs Hanana said the granting of SEZs status to Bulawayo should open opportunities for female entrepreneurs who are in the leather and textile            sectors.
“This consultative meeting is meant to craft a way forward on how women should take part and benefit from SEZs.
“Women, especially in this region, have a big role to play in reviving the city’s manufacturing sector. We are not targeting women in Bulawayo only but the country at large,” she said.
Mrs Hanana told Business Chronicle that women play a very huge part in the value chain of the manufacturing sector in the country.
“Women cannot be excluded in the taking part in the SEZs. Just look at the value chain of the Cold Storage Company (CSC). In rural areas women are the ones who look after cattle, getting milk from those cows and everything that comes out of the cows.
“This means that we have a part to play in this economy and women should be at the forefront in driving the economy forward,” she said.
Mrs Hanana stressed the need to work together in order to bring the much needed development in the city.
The AAG women’s desk was launched in May this year to enÂhance genÂder parÂticÂiÂpaÂtion in the counÂtry’s ecoÂnomic deÂvelÂopÂment and empowerment in line with Zim-AsÂset. — @Kiyaz_Cool
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