PRESENTATION BY THE ILO WEDGE PROGRAMME

1. PRESENTATION BY THE ILO WEDGE PROGRAMME STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT Presented by: Elizabeth Mbeza Simonda National Programme Coordinator-ILO WEDGE programme

2. Brief introduction of the ILO WEDGE programme ILO WEDGE stands for International Labour Organization Women�s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality, The ILO WEDGE Progamme is implemented by the ILO and financed by the Irish Government under the Irish Aid Programme

3. Objective and outcomes of the ILO WEDGE programme Objective: Increased gender equality and Women�s economic empowerment, Outcomes: Improved enabling environment for Women�s entrepreneurship Development,

4. Outcomes cont. Increased availability of gender responsive Business Development Services and Increased Access to domestic and International markets for women entrepreneurs.

5. Strategies for women/men empowerment in enterprise development Training in technical skills Technical skills important for women/men in business in order for them to produce new quality goods that can compete on the market, The skills will help women in business to improve the quality of their products,

6. Technical skills cont. Skills will enable the women in business to add value to their products so that they can get better income

7. Strategies cont. 2. Business management skills Will assist the women/men in business to know how to manage their businesses successfully, Will provide women with skills on how to set SMART objectives/goals for their businesses, how to come up with business ideas and screening those ideas in order to come up with the best business idea,

8. Business Management skills cont. Will provide women with skills on how to manage their money, to cost and price their products and also expose them to Book Keeping Tools that will assist them in keeping records for their businesses, products and also expose them to Book Keeping Tools that will assist them in keeping records for their businesses,

9. Business management skills cont. Will also provide them with skills on how to manage their employees that may include their children spouses and dependants,

10. Strategies cont. 3. Funds in form of loans Loans will assist some women that have good business ideas to start some profitable businesses in any sector of their choice, Loans will assist some women to grow their businesses,

11. Funds in form of loans cont. Loans will also assist some women in business to diversify into other types of businesses and Loans that women/men borrow will assist them as working capital to buy raw materials and equipment/machinery for their businesses and to import or export their goods and products.

12. Strategies cont. 4. Market for their products and services Provision of markets for products and services for women in business by providing linkages between small businesses and large companies that could buy products and services from small business women, Women to aggregate their products in order to meet the orders by big buyers,

13. Market cont. Women to be provided with exhibition skills by being trained in some of the Tools such as the ILO WEDGE Improve Your Exhibition Skills (IYES) so that they can participate effectively during trade shows such as Camp/District/Provincial/National Agricultural shows/ exhibitions, International Trade Fairs and others outside the country,

14. Market cont. Women in Business to be exposed to other training programmes such as the Access/COMESA training for Women exporters being coordinated by the Zambia Chambers of Small and medium Business Associations (ZCSMBA) and Women to be trained in Information and technology (IT) so that they can be able to use internet/websites for marketing their products

15. Strategies cont. Provision of information on marketing, markets and business in general Information is key for women in business as it is important for the success of their businesses, availability of resources, markets and on other women in business so that they are able to learn from each other.

16. Strategies cont. 6. Provision of Business mentorship and counselling Provides a one to one mentoring and counselling on the operations of one�s business and challenges that women in business face.

17. Strategies cont. 7. Top 10 Traits for Business success Important that women in business are exposed to the Top 10 Traits for business success, Women in business should aim at ensuring that they have most if not all the Top 10 Traits in order for them to be successful in business.

18. Strategies cont, Top 10 Traits for Business Success i, Opportunity Seeking- to achieve objectives, ii, Persistence-to achieve objectives, iii, Commitment to work contract-to achieve objectives, iv, Demand for quality-to achieve objectives, V, Risk taking-to achieve objectives,

19. Strategies cont. Top 10 Traits for Business Success cont. Vi, Goal setting (SMART)-to plan, Vii, Systematic planning and monitoring-to plan, Viii, Information seeking-to plan, Ix, Persuasion and networking-to manage and X, Self confidence-to manage.

20. Conclusion Strategies discussed in this presentation can only empower women in enterprise development if women can also respond positively. They can do this by making sure that they also pay for the Business Development Services such as training, mentoring and counselling and also pay back the loans. They should also be able to network among themselves so that they can share their experiences, learn from each other and even be able to aggregate their products in order to meet the contracts and orders.

21. THANK YOU, NDALUMBA