Summary

• Partner states discovered that limited access to information on business, opportunities, networks and access to market are reasons why businesses owned by women are not thriving across the continent.

The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50 MAWS project) platform aims at empowering women economically through a networking financial platform. Women in business will access information and financial services.

Specifically, the platform will improve the ability of women entrepreneurs to network and exchange information as well as access information on financial and non-financial services.

Christine Akot Akumu is the focal person for 50MAWSP.  She is also the principal gender officer at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD). She explains how businesswomen will benefit from the financial network.

What is this digital platform about?

It is about the use of smartphones to access information and services for women in business. It allows women to access financial and non-financial information to grow their business, offers opportunities relevant for their business and creates important business networks among them.

The digital platform is expected to address key development challenges that women- owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face in:

a) Accessing financial information needed to grow their business;

b) Accessing opportunities relevant to their business needs; and

c) Creating important business networks.

What is the genesis of this platform? How did the idea come about?

The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50 MAWS project) is supported by the African Development Bank that cuts across three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) namely the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the East African Community (EAC) and the Economic Community for West Africa States (Ecowas).

These communities identified that limited women access to information on business, opportunities, networks and access to market were key reasons why businesses owned by women are not thriving across the continent.

For the past three years, these communities have been engaging different stakeholders to ensure that the digital platform is enriched with information including but not limited to information on instruments signed by the partner states, organisations which provide access to affordable finance to women entrepreneurs at concessionary rates, financial literacy, training and coaching on critical aspects of capacity building.

The other key aspect is mentorship and how it helps women entrepreneurs and potential local mentors ready to nurture women entrepreneurs and how they can be accessed (individuals and organisations, preferably doing it for free) . This information was collected from service providers from the public and private sector, including women association networks.

How will an ordinary businesswoman benefit from this platform?

Through the women umbrella organisations, businesswomen, whose members were trained will in turn train women within their communities on the use and benefits of the platform.

What categories of women is this platform targeting?

All women who are in business or those who are planning to start a business. This involves small, medium and large business enterprises.

From the brief I was given, it appears this programme is still in the pipeline. Has it been rolled out in Uganda? If not, when is it happening?

The platform was launched in Uganda on December 1, last year. So far, more than 2,000 women have subscribed to the platform. A number of women umbrella organisations have been trained and we plan to continue supporting umbrella organisation to reach out to as many women entrepreneurs as possible, once resources are available.

This is expected to create a mass of businesses on the platform, which will enable women to support one another.

How do you plan to interest women in joining this platform?

We are planning to conduct mass media campaigns across the country, work with umbrella organisations such as UWEAL, Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA), Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Uganda National Farmers Federation, Kampala City Traders Association (KASITA), among others.

Do women have to pay to subscribe to this platform?

There will be no subscription for users. What is expected of them is to have a smartphone and download the 50MAWSP App.

Let us talk about businesswomen in rural areas who do not have smartphones. How will they benefit from this platform?

We believe that women without smartphones can either benefit through their group members or enroll on the platform through their children’s or relative’s phones to access market or financial related information to improve their businesses as they try to get their own phones.

What is the role of government or the MGLSD?

MGLSD will cordinate the implementation of this project. The ministry will coordinate with the East African Community to enrich the platform with new business information, new policies related to business or laws.

It will also cordinate umbrella organisations to enroll more businesswomen on the platform and provide additional content to add to on the digital space.

Lastly, government will lobby for resources from development partners to support the popularisation of the online platform.

MGLSD managed to lobby for resources from UNDP that complemented the funds for the launch, funds to train and enroll more women on the platform and popularise the platform through the media.

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