31 May 2015

Women entrepreneurs together with various business advocacy networks and government have been urged to fully utilise the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) Botswana Chapter.

United States ambassador, Mr Earl Miller, said this at the official launch of AWEP Botswana Chapter themed: Women Entrepreneurs: Transforming Economies Through Sustainable Development on May 28. He said such would help to grow the businesses and take advantage of African Growth and Opportunity Act to export to the US and globally.

Mr Miller commended AWEP Botswana Chapter for the time and effort it took in order to join the prestigious regional business network.

Since the AWEP inception globally, he said their Embassy in Gaborone had sent five participants to the US on short-term professional development exchanges under the International Visitor Leadership Program. He indicated that the fifth Botswana AWEP-affiliated entrepreneur would travel in July this year.

Over the past few years, he said Batswana AWEP alumni spearheaded the formation of a local Chapter to grow the production capacities of women to export goods and services, especially in the fields of arts and crafts, agro-business, apparel and textile, hospitality and tourism, and cleaning services.

The Botswana Chapter, he said was now a registered NGO with the Botswana government’s Registrar of Societies and boasts a membership of 60 female entrepreneurs, mainly youth.

“With the official launch of AWEP’s Botswana chapter we look forward to even deeper engagement to increase Botswana’s exports, especially those spearheaded by women, through the AGOA,” he said.

Given the importance of entrepreneurship, he said the US government was working hard to support Botswana’s entrepreneurs by providing them access to markets and capital, and offering them mentorship and networking opportunities.

Gender Affairs Department acting deputy director, Ms Matshidiso Thathana said Botswana government was a signatory to a number of international gender related declarations and protocol, which illustrated its commitment to gender equality and equity.

The national gender response, Ms Thathana said dated back to 1995 when government adopted the National Policy on Women in Development (WID policy), which was meant to close a relative gap between men and women in terms of equality and equity in accessing social, economic and political development resources.

The WID policy, she said was therefore formulated considering that women were left behind in most sectors of development.

“It was important that deliberate effort to empower women was put in place. Studies around the world, and in indeed in our country, have shown that gender is central to development effectiveness,” she said.
She added that it was evident that when men and women relatively equal, economies turned to grow faster.

“The poor move out of poverty more quickly and the well-being of men, women and children is enhanced and development efficiencies do improve,” she added.

However, she said that could only be achieved when gender related barriers to sustainable development were identified prioritised and addressed in a timely manner.

As a result, she said the country was also in the processes of adopting the National Policy on Gender Development, which would signify transition from a focus on women in development to a more comprehensive and inclusive approach than equality.

AWEP Botswana Chapter chairperson, Ms Chigedze Chinyepi said AWEP was formed after seeing the need for business women in Africa to travel to the US not for business only but also to be able to do business amongst themselves.

Ms Chinyepi said women were from sectors like agro business, food processing, arts and craft, apparel and hospitality and tourism.

She added that the three strong goals that were focused on were to accelerate growth of women owned businesses, foster leadership of women businesses organisations and support advocacy for women economic empowerment to become voices of change.

“We deliberately wanted to launch our AWEP Botswana Chapter when AWEP is five years old and we want to celebrate the fifth anniversary. Even though we were amongst the first to form AWEP, we wanted to take stalk of how the other Chapters are doing, so that we do it right. We believe after this launch we will join the other African AWEPs to push the business women agenda forward,” she said.

Meanwhile, AWEP is a trade and investment initiative started by the US Department of State in 2010 as a professional exchange program and 2015 marks its fifth anniversary.

In partnership with the US Agency for International Develop, AWEP provides professional networking, business development and trade capacity building opportunities for networks of prominent female entrepreneurs across sub-Saharan Africa.

The launch, graced by the newly appointed Botswana’s Ambassador to the USA, Mr David Newman, was meant to share what AWEP Botswana Chapter will do, what it offered and collaborate with other existing women organisations. Ends