Zim intensifying efforts to make women-run SMES competitive in AfCTA

Harare (New Ziana) – The government is intensifying efforts to formalize micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMES) owned by women so that they become competitive against the backdrop of the African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA), a cabinet minister has said.

Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said this at the Open Market Day and Exhibition which the Organisation of Women in Trade (OWIT) and Ecobank organised in the capital on Monday.

She said at least 56 percent of the 3.4 million MSMEs in the country are run by women, with the majority however being largely informal.

“Our population is made up of 52 percent women who play multiple roles in the economy as traders, workers, producers, caregivers and taxpayers,” she said.

“There are 3.4 million MSMES in Zimbabwe and 56 percent of them are run by women. The MSMES are the engine of growth in Zimbabwe, and they contribute over 60 percent of Gross Domestic Product.”

Mutsvangwa said the government attaches great importance to the role that women are playing towards national development and it will provide an enabling environment for them to operate in and thrive.

“The Government wants to see women’s organizations collaborate and amplify women’s voices that will contribute to the trade discourse that is instrumental to the creation of an upper-middle-income society in Zimbabwe by 2030,” she said.

The Open Market Day and Exhibition is a free event designed as a platform for women to access information on international trade and also provides them the opportunity to network, share experiences and exchange ideas on ways to get ahead in business and be export competitive.

Mutsvangwa said the event is an opportunity for Zimbabwean women to show up and be counted, to showcase their skills, innovation and unparalleled business intelligence at the regional and global levels.

“Zimbabwe is one of the first countries to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” she said.

“I have noted how the OWIT – Zimbabwe chapter spearheaded the sensitization of the AfCFTA amongst its members and continues the call through interventions such as the Open Market Day.”

She said the AfCFTA had vast investment and trade opportunities which the government wanted local women to benefit from.

“Please take advantage of the huge market of 1.2 billion people in Africa and promote regional integration in this region.”

The AfCTA was signed in March 2018, ratified by the required number of countries by May 2019, and came into force in January 2021.

It is the world’s largest new free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation in 1994.

If AfCTA is successfully implemented, Africa will have a combined consumer and business spending of $6.7 trillion by 2030 and $16.12n trillion by 2050.

New Ziana