i) Establish a coordinating office for BDS and outreach services for women-owned MSEs.
It is recommended that a coordinating office be established to facilitate access to BDS for women entrepreneurs. This could take the form of a network of women’s enterprise centres in various regions across the country, or the appointment of a dedicated women’s officer in SIDOs. The role of this office/officer would be to streamline needsbased services to women entrepreneurs, with the specific objective of upgrading the level of their enterprises by improving their access to BDS.
Outreach services would be provided to make women more aware of existing laws, regulations, BDS, financing options, marketing information, training opportunities and WEA services (e.g., through a series of regional seminars).
The office would also offer gender-mainstreaming sessions to the BDS network to ensure more effective servicing of the women’s market.
(ii) Disseminate business information through women entrepreneurs’ associations.
Women entrepreneurs’ associations should be supported in their efforts to disseminate marketing and other business information through their membership networks; these associations should be expanded to improve such access.
(iii) Train technical college and university gradates to become BDS providers in the women’s market.
To increase women’s access to BDS, a programme should be implemented to increase the supply of qualified BDS providers. One way of doing this would be to design a training/education component in MSE counselling/consultancy so as to prepare technical college and university graduates for careers as BDS advisers. A contingent of these graduates should be focused on the women’s market. The training programme should be augmented with internships in MFIs, BDS providers, regional agencies, etc.
Discussions should be undertaken with UDEC (among others) to design and deliver such a programme in concert with the University of Dar es Salaam and other educational institutions in the country.
(iv) Explore the BDS facilitators’ pilot programme being implemented by the Amhara Women Entrepreneurs’ Association (see Ethiopia country report).
To assist women-owned MSEs to identify weaknesses and growth opportunities in their businesses, women facilitators should be trained to provide one-on-one, group and sectoral business development interventions at the local level.
A good practice approach is the one being supported by the ILO’s WEDGEEthiopia programme, in cooperation with MoTI-WAD and the Amhara Women Entrepreneurs’ Association in Bahir Dar.
To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
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