WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

As a woman you have dreams and aspirations. You may see yourself as a successful entrepreneur, highly educated, happily married, financially independent, comfortable, raising a family, travelling all over the world. Yet nobody prepares you for the hurdles and the processes in between; the valleys and the mountains.

 Let me begin by celebrating every single one of you present in this forum because the mere fact that you are here means that you have overcome at one point or another. I do not know what you have gone through, but my instinct tells me that you have been through a lot

Possible Hurdles
As women, some face, emotional and physical abuse Sexual abuse Divorce Death of a loved one, whether through sickness or violent death Diagnosed with hiv/aids Children that you have invested so much in, but have not turned out the way you desired Rejection

 We are talking about empowerment. The the beginning of empowerment is in the ability to deal with your hurtful past and present and the forging ahead towards a brighter future.

Why is it important
Entrepreneurship is about creativity, its about birthing what the business dream. It means you thread on grounds where others have feared to thread. Its about risk taking. Its about believing in yourself. In this room there are market women, cross border traders, teachers, lawyers, nurses, doctors, scientists, miners, shop owners, property owners, farmers, politicians, etc. What is common among all of these is that they all began with a vision. If they have made it, you can also make it. The things you have gone through affect the way you think. E.g. as a result of rejection or poor background, some of us have very low self esteem. You see others better than yourself and you think you can not amount to anything. Even when opportunities come, you do not see them

My Journey
As a university student with a job as a cleaner and as a waitress in a foreign land It was in my days of struggle that I conceived a vision of owning properties. Every evening I would draw the sort of structures that I would like to have It does not matter what situation you are in, there is always a dream that is bigger than you As I said in earlier, no one tells you about the hurdles. I encountered a whole lot.

 There are certain things that happen in our lives as women that do not leave us the same. My family situation changed and this affected my outlook in life My father married a second wife which changed the priorities in the home. I was rejected by the man I looked up to and I therefore found myself an alternative father figure who, unfortunately, was married.

 12 years later, I had an encounter with the Lord in a near plane crash experience which awakened my conscience to the pain I had caused to the other woman. I, therefore, had to walk out of that marriage with two children. The crucial thing is not to see yourself as a victim, but you have to acknowledge your mistakes/ wrongs, learn from them and make the right decisions going forward. What has all of this got to do with entrepreneurship?

Dream Killers
Divorce, death, disappointment, hurts, sometimes your spouse can kill your dream through putting you down and discouragement have a way of killing your vision because they cripple you. However, in the midst of all this you can make the decision or choice to rise up I rose up and pursued my property business It grew from 3 apartments to a 49 room hotel with conference facilities, employing 40 people

Challenges In the Business

Business is not for the faint hearted. Challenges are the order of the day The current economic down turn has had adverse effects on many businesses, including mine. The demand for our services reduced drastically while operational costs remained the same. Difficulty in paying wages in time. Backlog of creditors some resorting to litigation out of pressure In my situation it resulted in inability to service loans and it posed a major threat to the business where the bank was calling the loan. What do you do when you see all your investment and staff looking helpless.

Lesson learnt
Getting professional advice: get as much advice as you can from different people and get the worst case scenario and then work backwards Only you can save yourself from the situation/ only you can find the solution to the problem. The solution is always nearby, but fear blinds you Do what has to be done, cut down what needs to be cut down Stop being sentimental with things. Sell what you can in order to salvage the situation I had to sell one of my properties which I treasured. Maintain communication with the bank You need to have support from family or religious group.

Health
The effects of the pressure on your business and life in general is deadly. Many have developed all kinds of illnesses, others plunged into depression, others have lost their marriages and children. Such maybe the price of success.

Conclusion
There is a way out and there are great opportunities out there. The storms do pass. Do not give up

Government Policies
We all know that SMEs are the engine for economic growth In most countries SMEs employ more 50% of labour force. Our various governments have put in place excellent policies that support SMEs E.g. in Swaziland we have SME policies that are aimed at addressing deprivation, poverty, economic empowerment and adjusting economic disparities through increased wealth creation. Despite the good policies in place, SMEs still face a myriad of challenges from economic downturns to undercapitalization with difficulty in gaining access to bank credits and other financial markets