i) Build capacity of women entrepreneurs’ associations through ILO’s WEDGETanzania project The formation of women entrepreneurs’ associations in all regions of Tanzania should be supported by the MIT-SME Section, with ILO-WEDGE support.
The ILO’s WEDGE-Tanzania programme should continue to build on its capacitybuilding work by offering more training workshops. When finalized, the women entrepreneurs’ association management manual should be translated into Kiswahili, distributed widely and used as a tool for small groups to mobilize themselves into larger associations and support the development of members in the areas of marketing, BDS and advocacy.
An inventory of good practices in the development of women entrepreneurs’
associations should be developed, including information on their board structures and governance, services to members, and other innovative association activities, taking account of special projects and advocacy efforts. This information could form the basis for upcoming workshops on capacity-building of WEAs.
(ii) Promote good practice in the operation of associations Existing women entrepreneurs’ associations should be encouraged to:
• Establish regional advisory committees to gain benefit from the expertise of local leaders in support of their objectives and action plans; • Deliver responsive services to members, recognizing the needs of members at different levels of growth; • Identify and exchange good practice in membership services and approaches; • Train leaders of new branches in organizational and governance issues; • Publish newsletters profiling association activities and other related information; • Distribute information on BDS to women; • Develop capacity to present positions regarding MSE issues for women entrepreneurs (e.g., access to credit/premises, BDS) to relevant agencies; • Participate in further capacity-building workshops/conferences; • Foster affiliation among WEAs within Tanzania and with other countries, so as to expand networks, exchange mechanisms and trade opportunities.
(iii) Provide seed funding to strengthen WEAs As part of the capacity-building for fledgling women entrepreneurs’ associations, short-term funding could be provided so they can hire qualified staff to help build their organizations and develop and deliver projects which will achieve association objectives and serve members. Staff should possess the skills required to identify members’
development needs, manage the delivery of membership services, and write project proposals for sponsorship and other funding.
(iv) Network women entrepreneurs’ associations into a truly national Tanzanian association Networking among women entrepreneurs’ associations should be facilitated to help promote a collective voice (it may be possible and desirable to build this around FAWETA). It is important that the different needs of different groups of women entrepreneurs (e.g., at different levels of development, in different sectors, and with different levels of education and experience) be respected in this national effort, given that the demographic make-up of the membership of individual WEAs may differ dramatically (e.g., from the sole traders of Zanzibar to the more educated women entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam).
(v) Share good practices in member services In order to foster the exchange of good practices in forming, developing and managing women entrepreneurs’ associations, including lessons learned from prior experiences, it is recommended that a conference be convened for leaders of the major groups in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya (and possibly Zambia – the fourth country in which ILO’s WEDGE team is operational) to discuss issues of governance, membership building, value-added service provision, promotion activities, and advocacy efforts.
(vi) Create a Leaders’ Forum for “Top 20 Women Entrepreneurs of Tanzania”
It is recommended that the “Annual Top 20” of the nation’s women entrepreneurs be formed into a Leaders’ Forum to serve as a network group for women in growth firms, and to offer mentoring support to women-owned MSEs through the activities of women entrepreneurs’ associations.
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