Urging Women to Push Ahead in Swaziland - Building Gender Balanced Business

• Much of the push for women to build businesses in Africa has been at the southern end of the continent, with an equality pact and government and private efforts from Zimbabwe to South Africa.

• The next step for the region is the formalisation of a South African/Swaziland women’s business relationship that will include a roadmap for joint strategic initiatives.

• Swaziland began preparing for the March start of the effort with a meeting in Serendipity led by Duduzile Dlamini, 2008 Business Woman of the Year Award winner. The Bridging the Gap meeting brought together more than 100 businesswomen.

• Team effort among women and greater trade opportunities were two of the main concerns of the Swaziland women.

• Participants also extolled entrepreneurship, calling for efforts to encourage more Swaziland women to start their own businesses, as a sideline or their main occupation.

• “We need to motivate and develop those women at the market, support them by buying their produce and empower them,” said Business Woman of the Year 2006 Sylvia Mthethwa.

“An Observer article about the effort”: http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=2132