The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Minister Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni has said despite the informal sector in the country being predominantly female-driven with an estimated 67 percent of women engaged in the sector, women-owned enterprises face multiple challenges that affect their productivity, growth, and competitiveness.
Speaking at the launch of the Catalyzing Economic Development through the Informal Sector (CEDIS) programme in Bulawayo last Thursday, Dr Nyoni said in spite of the high numbers of women in the informal sector, there were issues hindering their growth.
“These challenges include limited access to quality machinery, inadequate workspace, limited access to finance, high labour costs and poor working conditions, and weak technical and entrepreneurial capacities required for sustainable business operations. Besides, the informal sector was amongst the hardest hit during the Covid-19 global shock which retarded the progress and growth that we had made in this sector,” she said.
The CEDIS programme which is being spearheaded by Mercy Corps with Support from the Swedish Embassy, is a four-year programme that aims to improve incomes and resilience to shocks and stresses of vulnerable women in the urban and surrounding rural areas of Bulawayo and Mutare through sustainable informal and micro-enterprise livelihood projects. The Minister said the launch was an important occasion as it renews the relationship between the Government of Zimbabwe, Embassy of Sweden, and Mercy Corps Zimbabwe.
“The CEDIS programme has come at an opportune time when the Government of Zimbabwe is implementing the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) which is aimed at achieving an upper middle-income economy by 2030. As the Government, we recognise the crucial role being played by the informal sector toward this goal. The informal sector is contributing immensely to the national GDP, providing employment, livelihoods, strengthening the rural and urban linkages and incrementally contributing to the wellbeing of the Zimbabweans,” added Minister Nyoni.
She said she was confident that CEDIS programme will contribute immensely to increased access to decent jobs for women in the informal economy, improved business performance for women and women-led enterprises as well as an improved working environment.
The Minister said the programme aligns with the Ministry’s 2030 Vision which aims for socially and economically empowered women and resilient communities enjoying gender equality in a small and medium enterprise-driven economy by the year 2030.
Minister Nyoni said for sustainable economic transformation, she was calling upon collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors in embracing the existing development policies and strategies. She said the Government will remain mindful of its responsibility, which is essential to create a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and produce, under acceptable competitive conditions for the good of the economy.
In a speech read on her behalf, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube said Zimbabwe is estimated to have the largest informal sector in Africa and the second largest in the world after Bolivia, representing approximately 60 percent of the economy.
“Indeed, women in Zimbabwe play a critical role in the economy as producers, leaders, entrepreneurs and service providers.”
She said 80 percent of the women are aged between 25 and 54, while half of them were the main breadwinners in their families.
