Women Economic Empowerment in Botswana is led by through the Gender Affairs Department in The Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, and administers a programme in which Funds are allocated to individual women shareholders, Women NGOs, Small Businesses and Women Community groups.
Women focussed initiatives support the realisation that women are a vital part of the foundations of our economy. The majority of SMME business, art and craft, food are run by women, and indeed we are seeing many women taking the lead in manufacturing food products, going into farming and even technical industries. By supporting women in business, essentially the community is supported as the women are the providers for a huge number of homes in Botswana, often as single parents.
Skills development, business management, technical support and mentoring are also provided through organisations such as Local Enterprise Authority, or LEA, to ensure that the funded projects are successful and continue to grow. Many of the funded businesses under this program are groups of women, showing that teamwork is often the best policy for pooling of expertise, market understanding and network reach.
Eligibility for Women Economic Empowerment Program
To get this financial support, the following criteria apply:
• Citizens of Botswana.
• Beneficiaries be unemployed or have a monthly income of Maximum Five Hundred Pula (P500.00).
• Individual women as sole owners of their businesses.
• Groups of two or more people as long as they are citizens.
• Graduates and membership will be open to family members as well
• May include men in a group as long as their number does not exceed that of women.
• Community Based Organisations must be registered with the Registrar of Societies or the Deeds of Trust in the Deeds Registry of the Attorney General’s Chambers.
• Women’s groups and individual women registered with Companies Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) with a copy of certificate of business name/company registration. In the event that the names of beneficiaries do not appear in the certificate, share certificate will be required where each member will have equal share holding. Women’s Groups may also register with any recognised body such as the Department of Cooperatives Development and Agri-Business in the Ministry of Agriculture.
• Community Project must have a minimum of ten members, at least 70% of the members should be women.
Beneficiaries will be required to undertake an oath (affidavit) to confirm their status and should be implementers of the funded project.
Beneficiaries will have to open a bank account on approval of their project, which will be accessible to relevant authorities, into which Government funds approve will be deposited.
Beneficiaries should route all their purchases through Gender Affairs Department Offices at District levels, for authentication.
Beneficiaries will agree to technical, financial and business management training, and any who have previously benefited from any Government grant or scheme, may only be considered after thorough assessment.
APPLICATION AND APPRAISAL PROCEDURES
Business Operation Guidelines or Business Plan and certified copies of National Identity (Omang) for all members, with proposals addressed to Gender Affairs Office in area of operation.
Contact Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs Toll Free No.: 0800 600 777
Please have a look at the huge variety of products made and supplied in Botswana on Skymartbw, many of them by women in business.
