BUJUMBURA May 31st (ABP) – “Women entrepreneurs face certain challenges related to the ability to produce items that meet market needs”. Mrs. Ange Muyubira, a woman entrepreneur and at the same time legal representative of the NGO Kazoza keza, was speaking on the occasion of the official launch of the project “Support for women entrepreneurs in the agribusiness and handicrafts sectors on Friday May 27, 2022 in Bujumbura, a project whose main objective is to strengthen the gender equality and socio-economic development and which will be implemented by the AVSI/Kazoza keza Consortium in five provinces of the country, namely Bujumbura mairie, Bubanza, Gitega, Kayanza and Ngozi.
According to Mrs. Ange Muyubira, there is also some knowledge that women lack. She explained that some women do not know how to be bankable or how to build relationships with the financial institution so that they can grow well and be solid in their development projects.
According to that woman entrepreneur, women entrepreneurs also lack processing tools or marketing knowledge to be able to reach the product to not only local but also international customers.
According to Mrs. Muyubira, in Burundi, women face various barriers that limit their development, but the promotion of female entrepreneurship, which aims for economic development, can contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequalities between man and woman. According to her, women make a huge contribution to the economy both in business and on farms.
She pointed out that this project, which is financed by the European Union to the amount of 1,111,282.74 euros, will affect more than 5,000 beneficiaries, and will support women to be competitive in order to be able to meet the needs of the customers. Thanks to that project, there will also be improved access to financing for businesses, micro-enterprises and income-generating activities for girls and women.
For European Union Ambassador Claude Bochu, the participation of women in the labor market and the guarantee that they benefit from opportunities equal to those of men is at the heart of this project. For him, it is an essential element for the empowerment of women because it is the key to their emancipation.
According to ambassador Bochu, the project focuses on women living in rural areas, on the issue of equality between men and women, it explains the obstacles that still prevent rural women from enjoying conditions of equality of all their fundamental rights, including their participation in the economic life of Burundi.
The Ambassador of the European Union to Burundi did not forget to mention that “although food security, rural development and the fight against poverty are the responsibility of men and women, rural women continue to suffer from poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and lack of access to social services.” According to him, women face multiple forms of discrimination because of the fact that they are – women – by society and because of the distance from basic services. He explains that in some cases, they are not informed of the legislation or of their rights, whereas the empowerment of women and girls begins with the recognition and full exercise of their fundamental rights.
Claude Bochu ended his speech by saying that if we succeed in overcoming the inequalities that hinder the development of women, this success will have a multiplier effect on the reduction of other forms of inequality. He added that women’s right to own their property, their access to credit and to own their property, their access to loan and to essential services such as energy, drinking water, sanitation facilities, increase the chances of their daughters or their children in general to go to school and escape poverty.
According to him, reducing discrimination against women and girls leads to improvements in other areas such as education, child health, food security and economic development.
Previously, the Director General of Handicrafts Mr. Pascal Barutwanayo at the Ministry of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism said that the said project comes to contribute to the implementation of the strategic objectives of the national development plan of Burundi (2018-2027) whose priorities relate to the development of agriculture, crafts and decent employment through the improvement of the social and cultural status of women in the family and in society, and the promotion of the potential and position of women and men within the economy.