Advertisement

Women-run SMEs to gain from global online platform

Friday March 31 2017
women business

Rwandan women entrepreneurs hope to gain new markets following the launch of a local chapter of SheTrades web and mobile application platform. PHOTO| CYRIL NDEGEYA

Women entrepreneurs in the country hope to access new markets following the launch of the local chapter of SheTrades last week.

Initiated by the International Trade Centre (ITC), SheTrades seeks to connect one million women entrepreneurs to markets around the world by 2020 through web and mobile application platforms that allow them to share information about their companies and gain visibility through expanded networks.

According to Vanessa Erogbogbo, head of women and Trade at ITC, there are two ways to access markets through the business initiative — online and offline.

“Of course getting access to the market is very complicated, it is not just about meeting the buyer,” Ms Erogbogbo said, adding, “we can help you meet the buyer but there are more steps even after making this connection.”

Some business players and women representatives say women face many barriers in business; the majority of them are excluded from economic growth and that the one million target is small for an inclusive business environment.

Speaking at a news conference, Minister of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs Francois Kanimba said only 30 per cent of businesses in the country are managed by women and there is still a lot to be done for more inclusion of women in business.

Advertisement

According to ITC, 800,000 women around the world have been using the SheTrades platform since 2015, but some one billion worldwide are still disconnected from market opportunities.

Esperance Kanani, managing director of Women Import and Export Network — a local platform that brings together business women — said there is more effort to support producers and processors but linkage to external markets is rarely addressed.

“If there is no market linkage, there is no export,” she said in an interview with Rwanda Today.

Ms Kanani said that she has participated in various trade missions, but more needs to be done to increase access to international markets.

“Sometimes officials take one individual from a company to an exhibition or trade mission but we don’t get enough time to discuss opportunities with other business people,” said Ms Kanani.

Other trade barriers cited by experts and business people are lack of or high cost of packaging materials, and poor standards of local products.
The success of SheTrades mainly depends on partnerships and commitments in countries where it is implemented.
In Rwanda, MTN, which is an ITC partner, targets to connect 2,000 women by 2020 by allowing free app downloads.

While the trade initiative may boost women entrepreneurs, a lot still needs to be done to expand market access.

Ms Kanani said it is still too early to assess the success of the platform, but they will use it to seek new market opportunities.