A women economic empowerment information Expo targeting small businesses and community-based income-generating projects is set to benefit women of Nomlacu in Mbizana. The empowerment information Expo will be attended by older persons who are women, young women and women in general, who own income-generating community-based projects, cooperatives, spaza shops, agriculture projects, etc. The Expo will be preceded by handover of food gardening seedlings and registration of young women in the opportunities database of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) is organising the Expo and is in collaboration with Alfred Nzo District Municipality and local stakeholders. An environmental scan (fact finding exercise) was conducted and the scan revealed that these women led establishments (agriculture groups, cooperatives, poultry coops/projects, sewing and weaving project, arts and culture groups/projects) are in dire need of assistance. The needed assistance is ranging from business/cooperative registration, funding, non-financial support, training and technical support.
Subsequent to this fact-finding exercises, GCIS engaged and invited government departments and agencies including non-governmental organisations, to come and present on how best to assist women with aforementioned needs and challenges. The invited stakeholders have been presented with the findings and this Expo is convened to directly respond to the challenges rather than being a talk shop.
The drive to engage women and assist them with support to participate in the informal and formal economy is linked to the government’s continued efforts for women empowerment. Such programmes will and may go a long way in addressing issues of poverty and social ills such as Gender Based Violence and Femicide, and rescue women from dependency to their partners even though they endure abuse on a daily basis from the same partner.
This Expo is within the context of this year’s Women’s month which is commemorated under the theme: “Accelerating Socio-Economic Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment.”
