UN-led project turns the tide for Kigoma women
An ntrepreneur from Katumbi Village, Salama Athumani dries sardine along Lake Tanganyika in Kigoma Region. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Women from Kigoma Region want to be key players in the ongoing industrialization process. Over the years they have suffered gender inequality that denied them a meaningful education. This has affected their voices, devalued their work and undermined their position in their communities. In recent years, the government has increased its attention on developing the region, efforts supported by the international community with organisations such as the United Nations operating in the area under the Kigoma Joint Programme. In this interview The Citizen speaks to the director of the Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce, Mwajuma Hamza, who explains how the Norwegian-funded project: ‘Increasing Entrepreneurship to Women’ her organization is implementing through UN Women support, is turning the tide for women in Kigoma.
Question: Why is this project important for women in Kigoma?
Answer: This is the first phase of the project which we started in June last year, ending in September this year and targeting to economically empower 470 women from the districts of Kasulu, Kakonko and Kibondo.
When we talk about business in Kigoma, it would be very small scale for most women. When we held meetings with the women last year, we realized that as much as they were running small businesses, they also wanted to achieve more in life. This is why this project is important as it provides business, marketing and leadership skills to women and link them with other services provided by the government and through other projects under the Kigoma Joint Programme. The project is also connecting the women with the markets, financial institutions and services to formalize their businesses.
Tell us more about the women you are supporting and the criteria you used to identify them?
We are working with women above the age of 25 years.
Some of these women cannot read and write but we are not discouraged by this because the essence of this project is to provide skills to those who need them the most
What brought us together with these women was the fact that they are working in groups and we believe our support will have a multiplying effect if we train trainers to ensure that they pass on the knowledge to new group members.
How are you supporting these women to become more organized and utilize the knowledge you are giving them?
After training them on doing business, marketing and leadership, we organised them into clusters based on the nature of their businesses.
We have established a cluster on cassava production and processing in each district because cassava production is quite high in Kigoma. We also have clusters for businesses related to maize, rice, honey, vegetables and fruits. The logic in the clustering system is to support them to work together in a more organized and formalised way and also encourage them to start thinking about business in a much bigger way. We have been able to create a strong network and women can transport their products to sell in other districts.
Working in clusters also means increased capacity to supply big companies and boosting their chances of accessing inputs and capital from the government, financial institutions and other partners. Through these clusters we have also supported the women to realize other business opportunities they can explore in the value chain.
What are you exactly doing to increase the capacity of the businesses to supply big companies in view of market-related challenges?
The Government has provided support by establishing two markets in Kakonko and Kibondo. Each month, we have traders from countries such as Burundi who come to buy food from the women we have trained. The retail outlets in Kigoma are also buying products such as peanut butter and tomato sauce produced by the women.
Discussions are continuing with some private grain and cassava milling companies in Kigoma to encourage them to buy from women. But also, we have women-led food processing companies already buying from the women we have trained.
Looking at where the women are coming from, the project is doing well in providing business exposure through national exhibitions such as the Saba Saba Trade Fair and during national commemorations such as the International Women’s Day. We are also seeing many women becoming more confident in the area of marketing their businesses.
How is the project contributing to Tanzania’s vision on women’s economic empowerment?
We have been listening carefully to messages by President John Pombe Magufuli and what we are hearing is industrialization, industrialization and industrialization. This is what we are selling to all the women we are supporting and working with in other areas. We want women to actively participate in, own and drive the industries.
In the spirit of industrialization, the government is trying to reduce poverty, and we recognize and commend the political will to take women to another level economically.
In your opinion, what else needs to be done to ensure that the industrialization process becomes a reality for every woman?
We need to continue on the path of a more coordinated and collaborative approach, working with the government. More support by other development partners can further strengthen current interventions and ensure that women are economically empowered and not left out in this industrialization trajectory.
Women can significantly contribute to the sustainable development of this country. The challenge is that, many women lack enough capital to start and grow viable businesses. When we talk about industrialization, let’s look at the opportunities, identify where we are having low participation of women and try to address the barriers in a more practical way.
As women, we are envisioning an industrialised Tanzania where both women and men will equally participate in all sectors of the economy.
