Sisters doing it for themselves
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday June 26, 2015 15:08
Whether as a result of divorce, death of spouse or by choice, many women are finding themselves alone without the traditional male breadwinners to take care of affairs.
Besides this, the strides made by activists over the years have empowered many women to believe in their own abilities to succeed in the world of business.
And they are going well beyond the beaten path.
Boikhutso Nngozo joined Thusang Basadi in 1990 when things were not going well in her business.
“I had a tuckshop, but it was not doing well. I did not know what to do at the time, but someone told me about this organisation and I decided to seek help.
“I was told to open an account, join and become a full member in Thusang Basadi, which I did. I was then taken through a three-month course and was taught how to run a business.”
The budding entrepreneur also joined a group of like-minded women entrepreneurs whom Thusang Basadi had brought together.
The group established a business and a few years later she was able to again stand on her own.
“I am happy to announce that with the profits I received from that business and financial support from Thusang Basadi, I have been able to expand my tuckshop and also build rental houses.
“I therefore encourage the youth and fellow women to join this NGO so that they can also benefit from it and transform their lives,” Nngozo said.
She added that she has been able to save and now leads an uplifted life in which she is able to take care of her children.
For Obene Mmelesane from Ramotswa, life was difficult before she joined Thusang Basadi. Just like many other women who try to put food on their table, Mmelesane was a street vendor.
“Ke simolotse kgwebo ee potlana ke rekisetsa bana ba sekolo mabudula. The business did not excel as children do not really have money and there were many other people in the same line of business as me.
“I lost hope. I did not know where to go or what to do as my children looked to me for daily meals and clothes,” she recalled.
Mmelesane said her life changed after a friend told her about Thusang Basadi “where women are taught about business ideas and given skills training.”
“I decided to learn how to make decorations using paper mash. I was surprised when my business grew tremendously.
I have even expanded it to Selebi Phikwe where it is also doing very well,” she said.
Mmelesane’s life has been transformed as she now owns a car, a house and is able to take care of her family.
Dorcas Kereope from Letlhakane used to sell sweets and snacks, but like others in her peers before joining Thusang Basadi, her business was not bringing in enough profit.
“I joined Thusang Basadi last year where we started as a group of three women. We were given P1,000 to open a bigger business. We were keen to grow our business so we worked hard to make enough profits. When it grew each one of us decided to go solo. ”
Kereope then opened a large tuckshop from where she is now supplying other vendors with airtime.
“I have two tuckshops at home and another one in Orapa where I work as a street vendor. They are all doing well. I am also building rental houses thanks to Thusang Basadi and Standard Chartered Bank.
Through them, we can get loans which were impossible in other banks and cash loans.
“Their interest rates are reasonable and enable us to sustain our daily lives and expand our businesses.
She added: “I am proud to say that I have employed someone, which is good for our country as unemployment is high.”
Prior to joining Thusang Basadi, Kereope confesses that she did not know how to save.
“I am grateful to that organisation because my children no longer go to bed on empty stomachs.I used to rent but now I’m staying in my own house. I have also joined a motshelo and pay every month without hiccups like before,” she said.
Thusang Basadi and Women’s Finance House Botswana (WFHB) were incorporated in 1989 and later began operating in 1993.
The two organisation’s mandates were specifically to economically empower low income or poor women through the provision of micro loans, savings products and other business support services.
“This was in answer to calls made at various international meetings, in particular the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,” said Thusang Basadi board chair, Victoria Masenya.
“Among the six critical areas that Botswana adopted was women’s economic empowerment and the upliftment of women in poverty.
It was clear that part of the factors influencing inequalities between men and women was the economic dependence by women on men. ”
She said WFHB targets women who are at a micro level and those who do not have access to conventional financial services who are often termed the unbanked.
“The women are engaged in productive activities and are already challenged in many ways. WFHB, together with other stakeholders, are trying to open up access through a holistic approach in order to meet their needs.
These range from lack of business training, to the financial resources needed to sustain and grow their business, as well as lack of access to savings facilities.”
Recently, Thusang Basadi and Standard Chartered feted the successful women entrepreneurs, lauding them for lighting the path for their contemporaries.
Health Minister and women empowerment role model, Dorcas Makgato was the guest of honour at the event and she praised the initiative as critical in empowering women, building partnerships as well as creating an enabling environment for them to venture into business.
“I understand that WFHB assists low income women entrepreneurs who are operating in the informal sector and do not have access or qualify for normal business from conventional banking institution,” she said.
“These are mainly women who are mainly street vendors, sell airtime, sweets, fatcakes and food. Some of these women include small scale manufacturing women like seamstresses, those who make homemade soaps, atchar and others trying to uplift their families. “They all need a boost to sustain and grow their businesses. ”
According to Makgato, SMEs played a critical role in the country’s economic development activities.
She said together with larger enterprises, they played a key role in mobilising resources and allocating them among productive activities.
“It is worth mentioning that women constitute the majority of entrepreneurs engaged in the informal sector.
Their contribution ranges from employment creation to meeting their families’ economic needs and thereby creating wealth for the country.”
For her part, Standard Chartered Bank Head of Corporate Affairs, Tumie Ramsden said the bank was proud to be associated with the noble effort to uplift women.
“I am particularly excited about the transformation into reality of that which was agreed upon between my bank, Standard Chartered and Women’s Finance House Botswana when in 2014 we signed a three-year memorandum of understanding.
Our key elements include contribution to the Loan Fund to scale up disbursements and increase outreach such that access to finance is increased as well as knowledge sharing to impart and share expertise contributing to social and economic development. ”