Judith Phiri, Zimpapers Business Hub
WOMEN entrepreneurs in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leather sector are celebrating the transformative impact of regional empowerment initiatives, which have significantly boosted their skills and market access.
Now, with a clearer path to success, these driven business owners are urgently calling for increased financial support to fuel the growth of their burgeoning enterprises.
SADC has been actively working to empower women in the leather sector through various initiatives aimed at enhancing skills, improving market access and fostering entrepreneurship.
A number of women leather sector players from various SADC member states have been empowered and are involved in the leather value chain, while they are calling for financial support to grow their businesses.
In an interview on the sidelines of the recent SADC Leather Value Chain B2B Workshop in Bulawayo on Wednesday, Mkla Africa Sales and Marketing Manager, Mrs Tendani Sibanda from Botswana, said they were into leather products such as bags, wallets and hats, among others, that are all handmade.
“We are a team of five, two males and three females, while our clients are mainly the private sector and we cater to corporate organisations as well as individual clients who want custom-personalised products.
“We also incorporate cultural materials in our products and we are helping reduce waste in the landfills; the products we use are recycled. We also use real leather which is repairable; customers are able to bring them back and we fix products that would have been damaged. Unlike when people buy fake leather, once it’s damaged, there is nothing that can be done,” she said.
“We were recently trained by a Zimbabwean company for three months and now we are venturing into making leather personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, gowns and aprons, among others. We are servicing the Botswana market but we do look forward to tapping into exporting into the region and beyond as we continue to get training and market linkages through SADC initiatives.”
She said SADC leather sector empowerment programmes have assisted in enhancing skills and improving market access for women in leather which will ensure they contribute to the growth of the regional leather value chain.
Mrs Sibanda said events such as the SADC Leather Value Chain B2B Workshop were helpful to them as women in the leather sector as they get to network with other female entrepreneurs and find out how they are doing their operations in their countries.
“This gives us an opportunity to also find out how they are overcoming the challenges they experience, especially as female entrepreneurs. The industry is still male-dominated so we do need to have empowerment of more female-led businesses.
Source: The Herald
Source: The Herald
