Story by Fairstars Mukungurutse
THE government has reiterated its commitment to advancing financial inclusion for women-led businesses, with the goal of enhancing their economic opportunities.
Women-led businesses are a crucial component of the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), however, they continue to face significant challenges in accessing capital.
At the Women Business Empowerment and Leadership Conference, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, underscored the government’s dedication to supporting financial inclusion for women in business.
“My Ministry’s thrust is to promote women and women-led businesses to have access to affordable and appropriate financial services as tools to achieve financial freedom and allow them to participate and contribute meaningfully to economic growth,” Minister Mutsvangwa said.
“This is in line with SDGs, Vision 2030, and NDS1 theme of ‘Leaving no one and no place behind.’ To realise the vision of my Ministry, various programmes are being implemented for women and MSMEs development. Access to affordable and appropriate finance is critical for the sustainable growth of SMEs in Zimbabwe.
“The Ministry facilitates the provision of affordable financial products and services by linking SMEs to development banks, financial institutions and microfinance institutions. The Ministry administers two funds; the Women Development Fund and the Zimbabwe Community Development Fund, and has two Financial Institutions, Zimbabwe Women Microfinance Bank and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Cooperation. The Funds and the Institutions provide funding support to women, communities and MSMEs.”
Founder of the Motivate Women’s Forum, Mrs Mercy Matsika highlighted the importance of leveraging government support to boost women’s economic impact.
“This was a great opportunity to empower women, to develop leadership, and to collaborate with the government, in order to identify opportunities available for women. A lot of women have great ideas but they lack funding.”
Women entrepreneurs from various sectors encouraged more women to establish their own businesses, emphasising the need for women to take up space in economic development and to have confidence in their abilities.
Zimbabwe’s commitment to women’s financial inclusion is guided by the National Gender Policy and Broad-Based Women Economic Empowerment Framework. The efforts aim to address the significant disparities in financial inclusion between men and women, with women making up a substantial portion of MSMEs.
