ZimTrade’s Next She Exporter Programme: Empowering Women for Economic Growth

TANATSIWA DAMBUZA

ZimTrade, Zimbabwe’s national trade development and promotion organisation launched the Next She Exporter programme last year to train women entrepreneurs for export readiness.

The first edition of the programme ended on March 31, 2023 with exciting displays by some of the women-led businesses that received capacity building in the past year. In his speech, ZimTrade CEO Allan Majuru said: “Our take away from this is that we have managed to impact 100 females in export so they can earn more and improve their lives”.

The Next She Exporter programme is a unique export development programme that leverages the benefits of various types of knowledge sharing formats in building capabilities of local women in the export business.

The programme is targeted at businesses that are wholly female-owned or where women hold at least 51 percent shares of the business. The selection was based on enterprises with potential to export, are environmentally friendly, and socially responsible businesses with an enterprise model that demonstrates a unique comparative advantage.

The importance of this programme cannot be overstated. As Africa inches closer towards full economic integration, with trading under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) underway, the focus is now on ensuring that women are empowered enough to play their role more effectively in growing trade.

Empowering women economically will improve the livelihoods of people and contribute to poverty reduction with unprecedented margins. The International Trade Centre (ITC) notes that women play a major role in the global economy because they “invest more in their families than men do, in areas such as education, health and nutrition, creating a secure foundation for the future of their families and communities”.

The Next She Exporter programme is thus crucial for the development of African economies and for achieving regional integration.

It is also important for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Its contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic growth and vision 2030 of an upper-middle-income economy is significant.

In conclusion, ZimTrade’s Next She Exporter program is a commendable initiative that empowers women entrepreneurs for export readiness.

It is an important step towards achieving regional integration, economic growth and sustainable development.

As AU declared 2023 as the year of the AfCFTA (Accelerating the Implementation of the AfCFTA), it is crucial that programmes like Next She Exporter continue to receive support and recognition.

In addition, March being Women’s month, it is important to recognise and celebrate the potential of these trained women in improving Zimbabwe’s economy and vision 2030 of an upper-middle-income economy.

The trainees have expressed their appreciation for this opportunity and how it has impacted their lives and businesses.

Tanatsiwa Dambuza is a graduate with MSc in International Trade and Diplomacy and a Regional Integration Expert and Consultant with special focus on AfCFTA, SADC, EAC and COMESA. He is the Founder of Zimbabwe Institute of African Integration (ZIAI) and an advocate for youth, women and SMEs inclusion in regional trade negotiations and processes. He can be contacted on tanatsiwadambuza62@gmail.com or +263779988050