The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform (50MAWSP), to finance women’s businesses in their post-COVID-19 recovery. The platform is accessible on the Google Play and Apple stores.
COMESA has expressed concerns that women-led businesses have been strongly affected, underlying a grim economic reality for women businesses in Africa.
A study carried out by the International Trade Center revealed that 64% of women-led firms declared their business operations as strongly affected, compared with 52% of men-led companies. More than 90% of women entrepreneurs reported a decrease in sales during the pandemic, according to another survey from WEConnect International.
“The 50 Million African Women Speak platform is a practical solution to help women in the region to start afresh, or, to simply start,” said COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe.
“Women can use the platform to access tools for business training, mentorship and financial products. They can engage each other across the continent, especially during this pandemic where they need to trade digitally,” Chileshe added.
“50 Million platform is going to help me expand my market,” said Shuwena Salim, an entrepreneur from Zanzibar who has been exporting her products to mainland Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi.
In a bid to popularize the platform, COMESA has launched the 30 Days of Women in Business campaign. The campaign is aimed at celebrating women entrepreneurs in the region and offer them an opportunity to connect with their mentors with the 50MAWSP platform.
Ensuring women’s full economic empowerment through platforms such as the 50MAWSP is crucial to increase productivity levels and improve overall development outcomes. Women can play a key role in building African economies better post-COVID-19 if they are connected, networked and empowered.