Tinaani Nyabereka
Zimbabwe recently hosted a Women Empowerment Summit which drew delegates from various countries, United Nations and women organisations among others.
Run by Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, in partnership with the National Economic Consultative Forum, the forum ran from December 7-8 2022 in Harare.
Speaking on the side lines of the event, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Industry Enterprises Development Sithembiso Nyoni said the summit was expected to assist formulate policy planning on women’s empowerment and gender equality as well as allocation of resources towards such achievements.
“This summit is a highly participatory and inclusive platform that brings stakeholders together to deliberate on policy and technical issues affecting women’s participation in economic activities, in order to promote inclusive development and attain Vision 2030.
“The summit’s broad objective is to deliberate on challenges and opportunities affecting Zimbabwean women and to recommend interventions to promote the growth of sustainable female-led or female-owned businesses in order to leave no one and no place behind in the process of development,” she added.
The summit was guided by specific objectives which included among others, providing a platform for a technical discussion on challenges and opportunities for women in business in Zimbabwe, facilitating knowledge exchange on how to empower women in the country; proffering interventions and formulating recommendations to address challenges faced by Zimbabwean women and influencing future policy formulation.
“The two day summit will have presentations, panel discussions and high-level discussions among critical stakeholders on the following: promoting production and value chain development; financial inclusion and access to capital for production and trade; promoting standards, compliance, and access to regional and international markets; use of ICT as a tool for improved production and competitiveness; provision of appropriate and inclusive workspace and infrastructure to facilitate quality production; gender responsiveness to promote women empowerment; climate change and renewable energy systems for sustainable production and competitiveness.
“The two-day summit and expo to be held on 7 and 8 December 2022 is to be officially opened by President Emerson Mnangagwa and will include panel discussions and high-level discussions,” added Nyoni.
The summit was running under the theme, ‘Revitalising Economic Growth through Women Empowerment’.
