Empower 100 SHEpreneurs in Rural Zimbabwe...

The amazing testimonials of the SHEpreneurs who are working tirelessly to improve their lives and their communities through the power of entrepreneurship received regional recognition as they hosted a regional delegation for an exchange visit. 

The Zimbabwe Women's Parliamentary Caucus and the Kwazulu-Natal Multiparty Women's Caucus (South Africa) visited the SHEpreneurs on an exchange visit to discuss their work and contribution towards furthering women and girls' empowerment and gender equality in Zimbabwe. The delegation consisted on all female members of the legislature across all political party lines.

During the visit, the SHEpreneurs shared on the business management and financial literacy training they received using the Street Business School curriculum and highlighted the various entrepreneurial ventures they were engaged in. They showcased some of their products which included agricultural commodities, clothing, poultry and peanut butter. The SHEpreneurs gave testimonials on how the income they earned was transforming their lives and their families. They can now send their children to school, feed them better, clothe them better as well as afford healthcare when needed. The SHEpreneurs were taking up leadership positions in their families and their communities. The economic freedom they have attained enabled them to make better life choices.

The visiting delegation witnessed the impact that entrepreneurship and economic independence was having on the lives and livelihoods of the SHEpreneurs. They were impressed with this economic empowerment model and the best practice sharing which enabled them to get valuable input into how they could structure their own initiatives back in their constituencies.

The recognition and the high powered delegation visit increased the levels of confidence among the SHEpreneurs.

One unique component of the training and support Talia Womne's Network gives to the SHEpreneurs is the one on one coaching done at three intervals during the life of the project. At inception, a baseline coaching visit is conducted where the SHEpreneurs get to set goals for themselves. These goals, usually financial are a key motivator for the participants which drive them to work hard even when the going gets tough. Some of the goals set by the women include sending their children to better schools, building a home for the family and purchasing household assets. Midway through the training, a mid-term coaching visit is conducted to check on progress made to date. It is through this coaching visit where the lead coaches establish whether the SHEpreneur is still on target to meet the goals, identify any challenges they are facing in program implementation and brainstorm on possible solutions to the challenges. Two months after the 6 month training period, exit coaching vists are conducted to assess whether the SHEpreneurs met their goals and to ascertain whether their income generation projects will be sustainable in the long run.

Meet Rhodia a young mother of three and a high school drop out because of financial reasons. Without much of an education, Rhodia relied on her husband to sustain the family. There are so many things that she wished she had in life but with the limited financial resources in the family, the wishes seemed like just a dream. When the opportunity was presented for Rhodia to receive business management and financial literacy training, Rhodia was quick to enrol and her major goal was to improve the livelihood of her family and to build a home for her family. Rhodia wanted to prove to her husband and to those around her that she was enterprising and given the opportunity she could improve the quality of her life and standard of living.

Following the training, Rhodia started a poultry project and started earning an income. However, she barely had enough to send her children to school and feed the family. Rhodia did not forget her dream of owning a home and started moulding bricks with the help of her husband. Eight months down the line, Rhodia is a proud owner of an almost complete home, which she built using the bricks she moulded herself. Rhodia used the little income from the poultry project to join a village savings group and is using her personal savings to purchase the other building requirements for the construction.

Rhodia was beaming with pride as she showed off her home during the coaching visit. She is truly grateful for the training and support she received. She has had a mindset shift and is now positive about what the future holds. Her husband also sees her differently. The quarrells over money issues are gone, he sees her as an equal partner who contributes significantly to the welfare of the family.

The Street Business School training has helped us transform the lives of women in rural communities in Zimbabwe. As we end the year 2022, we are proud to announce that 166 women graduated from the program in this year alone. Now that is what we call ending the year on a very high note... Seeing these women graduate and change the futures of their families and communities has been the highlight of the year and we are truly grateful for all the support we receive.

Coach Lorrator heard about the training from past participants in her community and she decided to take a chance with the hope of transforming her own life. Going through the six months of training and coaching, made Coach Lorrator realise the potential she never knew she had. The training was all she needed to ignite change in not only her life but also in the lifestyle of her family.

Having gone through the module called Finding Capital and Starting Small, Coach Lorrator took her few savings and started selling sweets and stationery to school children by the roadside. She was very disciplined in managing her profits and reinvested them into her micro-business. Within a couple of months, Coach Lorrator was able to afford renting shop space at the local community centre. She increased the products she offers in her shop to incude plasticware, kitchen products, baby clothes and confectionery. The coaching sessions enabled her to set goals for her business and gave her the drive to achieve them. Coach Lorrator also received support from her husband as she was establishing the business. She has been able to increase her profit to $85 a week and uses the funds to cater to the needs of her children. Coach Lorrator has so much peace knowing that she afford her children's education and healthcare needs. The quality of her life and standard of living have greatly improved...

The 29th of June 2022 is a day that will forever be remembered by 55 SHEpreneurs from Chiwaridzo Village in Glendale, Zimbabwe. Having gone through the 6-month Street Business School training - the SHEpreneurs covered modules that included Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone, Money Management, Growing Your Customer Base, Record Keeping and Market Research. The SHEpreneurs also received one-on-one coaching in the course of the program where the coaches assisted them as they set their business goals and kept them accountable to ensure they were achieved.

One remarkable thing from these SHEpreneurs, is they did not wait for the completion of their studies before setting up their income generating ventures. In the second month, they already embraced the entrepreneurial mindset and established businesses which included peanut butter making, poultry, horticulture, dressmaking and crafts. 

The graduation ceremony received attention in the province and was supported by other stakeholders from private sector, government and other non governmental organisations. The testimonies that were shared were evidence of the impact of the project on the lives of the women and their families. Some husbands testified that they now had peace in the homes and the wives were now better at managing the household finances.

At the time of the graduation, 95% of the women had at least one income generating project and the group saw a 33% increase in income earned.

Links:

• Testimonial from one of the SHEpreneurs

The SHEpreneurs are taking the necessary steps towards transformation and economic independence. Having gone through the first phase of their Street Business School journey, the SHEpreneurs have received training on modules which include Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone, Business Opportunity Identification, Market Research, Finding Capital and Starting Small and Business Planning. The SHEpreneurs have also individually received two coaching visits where they received one-on-one business coaching - setting business goals for themselves as well as guidance on how to achieve them.

The transformation has been evident with a significant number of the SHEpreneurs having already ventured on income generating projects that are out of their comfort zones. One such inspirational story is Memory and her three friends, after being motivated by the module on Finding Capital and Starting Small, they approached their local savings group and tooka loan to purchase day old chicks. They purchased 125 chicks in two batches and are already looking for possible markets for their chickens which are going to be ready in a few weeks. Memory and her friends do not want to end there, they are planning on repaying the loan and getting more capital to expand their chicken business. The women dared to try something new and something different after going through the life changing business management training.

Memory's story is not unique to her alone. Many more women from this group of SHEpreneurs are venturing into peanut butter processing, grocery retailing, handbag production and many other enterprises, relying on skills they already had as well as the business management training from Talia Women's Network. Indeed they are taking steps towards transformation and financial stability.