UNDP, Ministry empower women and youth SMEs

THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development, is empowering women and youth-led enterprises to become export-ready and access markets through digital platforms as they prepare to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

UNDP began its training in Bulawayo last week, collaborating with the Bulawayo Tech Hub to train youth and women start-ups on leveraging social media platforms to access local, regional and international markets.

In an interview, UNDP Zimbabwe head of exploration, Ms Violet Katiyo, explained that the training is part of UNDP’s efforts to equip youth and women-led SMEs to take advantage of AfCFTA. She said that they are conducting extensive training on branding, marketing, export management, logistics and export readiness.

“We have also realised that e-commerce is a very important platform that we need to leverage to support businesses so that they can have a wider reach,” said Ms Katiyo.

“This training is the first of many that are going to be conducted across Zimbabwe and we are working with the relevant ministry, which is the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, SMEs Development. We are going to all provinces in Zimbabwe where we are training on export readiness topics and digital skills. We are teaching them how to leverage existing platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Canva to design e-commerce adverts.”

Ms Katiyo said the initiative aligns with National Development Strategy 1, which promotes economic development and inclusivity. She emphasised that empowering women and youth-led SMEs promotes employment creation and improved livelihoods, which is in line with Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle-income society.

Ms Victoria Nxumalo, founder of Girls in STEM and co-founder of Bulawayo Tech-Hub, highlighted the challenges small businesses face in accessing digital marketing, noting that business is increasingly conducted online. She said that acquiring these skills will help SMEs reduce the expenses of hiring people to do it for them.

“It’s very important for women to step into the technological space as well because this is something that has not been happening. When they want to create flyers for their small businesses, they have been struggling to get prices that are fair as small businesses,” she said.

One of the training beneficiaries, Ms Siwinile Ncube, who is in the printing business, described the UNDP programme as an eye-opener. She admitted that before the training, she was not aware that she could use Facebook to benefit her business.

“I appreciate what UNDP and the ministry have done for us. I didn’t know that I could use my computer or my phone at home to market my business. I was scared because I always thought things like Facebook were for people without good manners but now I have learnt a lot about how to use those platforms to access markets,” said Ms Ncube.

The SMEs sector in Zimbabwe has grown tremendously over the years, now contributing more than US$8,6 billion annually to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing 4,8 million people on a full-time basis. The Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development collaborates with other Government institutions and development partners to facilitate and provide training to SMEs, equipping them with relevant managerial and technical skills to enhance their business operations and adapt to the ever-changing business environment. — -chronicle