Celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship: AWE Marks 5th Anniversary

By Ilyana Sithole

The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) marked five years in style at La Casta Restaurant, a testament to the resilience and innovation of Zimbabwe’s women entrepreneurs. The event was officiated by Honourable Sen. Monica Mutsvangwa, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development.

She highlighted that women in business played a significant role in general economic development with greater numbers of women-owned entities being actively involved in nearly every single economy across the world’s different sectors. “To this end, 56.4 percent of the 4.1 million business owners operating in Zimbabwe are women”, she said, quoting MSME Survey 2021. This number represents the significant and important contribution which the MSMEs play: their contribution to the country’s GDP is over 60%.

The minister went on to identify some of the systemic barriers affecting women entrepreneurs: gender biases, for instance, or the limited availability of access to finance and resources. She added that, there is need for “A collaborative approach among all the stakeholders in the implementation of various strategies to mitigate these challenges to enable women entrepreneurs to thrive is vital.”

Minister Mutsvangwa applauded AWE, she noted that, so far, since inception in 2019, the program has empowered over 430 women through using partnerships and the U.S. Exchange Alumni network to develop prosperity locally. She also acknowledged USADF, which is supporting the program with more than $300,000 in seed funding to Zimbabwean women entrepreneurs.

Additionally, the event was coincidentally held on the 13th day the global observance of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a vital link that highlights how entrepreneurship relates to the empowerment of women. “Entrepreneurship has been identified as one of the most effective ways of empowering women to fight against GBV,” noted Sen. Mutsvangwa.

Furthermore, the lively ceremony, concluded with the minister urging all women to be engaged in business, using their natural qualities and instincts of resourcefulness and intuition. “Together, we create a better future for female entrepreneurship and the overall development of our country,” she exhorted.

Amongst the distinguished guests in attendance were representatives of the United States Embassy among other diplomatic missions in Zimbabwe, and showed a formidable commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.

This year, as AWE carries on with its mission to promote women’s empowerment, there is one message: the prosperity of Zimbabwe’s economy is entwined with the fate of its women entrepreneurs.