Women entrepreneurs in Mozambique debate old and new challenges in the post-pandemic era

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Women entrepreneurs in Mozambique debate old and new challenges in the post-pandemic era

2:53 CAT | 08 Apr 2022

Screen grab: U.S. Embassy in Mozambique on Facebook

Ahead of Mozambican Women’s Day, the US Embassy promoted the “Power para Elas” conference in Maputo this Tuesday.

Around 60% of small and medium-sized Mozambican companies are managed by women.

However, these women entrepreneurs typically own smaller businesses, employ fewer people, take on more responsibilities at home, and have less access to information networks.

This is due to difficulty accessing financing, according to Ndzira Razão de Deus, from the organisation Fórum Mulher, who maintains that “women entrepreneurs do not have equal access to opportunities as men”.

Although Mozambican women are responsible for huge amounts of money moving about in the informal economy, the ways they do so are not sophisticated, so their contribution is not represented in official statistics.

Alima Sauji, who works in communications, says that “training is one of the great challenges for entrepreneurs”.

In the last two years, in which the country and the world have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, women have demonstrated their resilience, according to Gemina Langa, spokeswoman for the Mozambique United States of America Chamber of Commerce.

To reverse this scenario and boost women in the post-pandemic era, the US Embassy in Mozambique on Tuesday (April 5) brought together women entrepreneurs and business operators for a conference called “Power for Women and an Inclusive Economy”.

Chargé d’Affaires Abigail Dressel called this an “important platform for improving access to equal treatment and equal opportunity for women.”

Juntámo-nos a 100 mulheres empresárias para celebrar o Dia da #MulherMoçambicana e para capacitar mulheres líderes nos negócios. “POWER Para Elas” foi um espaço para discutir os desafios que as mulheres enfrentam na economia e encontrar soluções para um futuro mais inclusivo.🇺🇸🇲🇿 pic.twitter.com/UPew7L8t5U

— Embaixada dos EUA em Moçambique (@USEmbassyMaputo) April 6, 2022