Women, youths urged to grab AfCFTA opportunities

WOMEN and youth entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe should strategically position themselves to reap trading benefits and grow their businesses under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Scaling up intra-Africa trade is set to be a game changer that will transform the continent’s economy, with countries trading under the AfCFTA since January 2021, experts have said.

This presents a lucrative opportunity for micro-small to medium enterprises (MSMES), who make up more than 90 percent of all businesses in economies across the continent, with women comprising almost 60 percent of Africa’s self-employed workforce, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Zimbabwe is already working on its tariff offer after the Government ratified the AfCFTA Agreement with industry leaders expected to submit critical input in the process.

“The AfCFTA is a good opportunity for women businesses as they will be able to trade easily. This will boost our business as women, especially for Zimbabwe, which is under sanctions, as market prices will be competitive,” said economic analyst Mrs Sheila Sidambe, a former Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce executive.

“However, awareness is lacking and as business member organisations we have a task to reach to our members and assist in capacity building.

“The Government should also play its part in educating the public and giving updates on where we are about the tariff offer and where we are going.”

As part of awareness interventions meant to capacitate local entrepreneurs, the ITC, in collaboration with the Organisation of Women in International Trade (OWIT) Zimbabwe, will host a trade forum tomorrow to explore how the AfCFTA can help empower women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe and the whole of Southern Africa.

OWIT-Zimbabwe president, Tshengi Ndlovu, has expressed excitement over the AfCFTA deal and challenged women and youth in the region to reap its benefits.

“We applaud the addition of the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth and we look forward to working closely with the Government in ensuring that they benefit from the opportunities that come with the AfCFTA,” she said in a pre-event media brief.

Tomorrow’s event is part of ITC’s “One Trade Africa” programme that supports women and youth entrepreneurs in taking advantage of the AfCFTA. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Business Council and the country’s trade development and promotion agency — ZimTrade, would join the event, titled ‘Trade Beyond Covid-19: Demystifying the AfCFTA for Zimbabwe/Southern Africa Women-led MSMEs’.

“To be able to fully gain from the AfCFTA, African entrepreneurs, particularly women-led businesses, need to understand how this historic agreement can directly benefit them,” ITC senior AfCFTA coordinator, Aissatou Diallo, said.

“The Harare forum will generate trust in the Agreement as well as establish a sense of ownership to ensure its long-term sustainability.”
The forum is expected to provide an opportunity for women entrepreneurs in Southern Africa to develop new trade roadmaps for their businesses.

Due to Covid-19 consciousness, organisers said 30 delegates will gather in Harare while participants from the sub-region, key speakers and panellists will join virtually.

The event will also include mini-workshops on key trade topics. The sessions will look at exporting within the AfCFTA — a new ITC training programme, using e-commerce to expand business opportunities and increasing intra-Africa transactions as well as identify gaps in policy and monitor progress through an ITC tool — ‘SheTrades Outlook’.

ITC estimates the share of women-owned companies participating in international trade at 20 percent.

Additionally, an estimated one billion women are unable to participate in the global economy. In developing countries, about 36 percent of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are said to be partially or fully owned by women.

The ITC has expressed commitment to Africa in building women entrepreneurs’ capabilities to trade and to take advantage of the African single market.

As such tomorrow’s event would culminate in the call for action from small businesses highlighting key areas of intervention for women-owned businesses in Southern Africa within the AfCFTA context.

The AfCFTA is a milestone for Africa, taking a bold step beyond regional integration for cross-continental trade.
Zimbabwe has one of the most vibrant small business sectors in Africa, which plays a critical role in job creation.-chronicle.c.zw