By W.S. Kamalandua Presented at AGOA Civil Society Organizations Forum. Washington DC June 2012

OUTLINE 1. Position of women in economic activity Women in Agriculture Women in Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) 2. Positioning of Women in Economic Activity 3. The global economic crisis 4. Importance of trade 5. Recommendations for empowerment of wmn entrepreneurs AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Position of women in economic activity Women and girls disadvantaged (transcends sectors). Why Gender Inequality despite proliferation of interventions?—GI in access and control of resources AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Position of women in economic activity Women largely operate SMME – retail outlets, boutiques, restaurants, hair dressing, consultancy, handicraft stalls, horticulture and other agricultural activity. Wmn in ICBT: Goods from country of origin - mainly handcrafts: wooden products, leather shoes, traditional Jewellery, items from a variety of grasses, traditional attire, and traditional dried flowers. AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Position of women in economic activity Goods from the country of destination – kitchen utensils, curtains, bedding, clothing, shoes, bags, second hand clothing, hair accessories, cosmetics, toys, computers and accessories, cell phones perfumes, sun glasses, umbrella, floor polish. AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Position of women in economic activity Very few services traded by ICBTs- major service traded is hair dressing. Profile of Traders: ICBT not only for unemployed wmn Office assistants and professionals augment incomes Nature of Trade: Hawkers also include bartering ICBT incomes an important source of livelihood Poor support from Govt and other stakeholders Lack of harmonization of border policies AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Positioning of Women Entrepreneurs Capacity gaps: - record keeping -interpretation of financial statements -understanding a business concern, ethics -business networks and skill transfer -contingency planning and ability to focus -understanding competition -innovation, value addition, diversification -market penetration and branding AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Positioning of Women Entrepreneurs SPS and other TBTs AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

AGRICULTURE Women > 40 percent of the labor force 3 to 20 percent of landholders. In Africa, wmn-owned enterprises approx 10% of all businesses. wmn comprise < 20 % of the world’s legislators. Empowerment of wmn farmers with the same access to land, new technologies and capital as men, can increase crop yields by as much as 30 percent and feed an additional 150 million people. ( and-womens-empowerment) AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS Financial crisis (2008) – global economic meltdown-loss of demand from international markets-loss of employment- fall in export revenues. These changes may be expected to last for several years and to be uneven between men and women, industrial sectors and global regions. (Walby 2009) Small business traders source their finances mainly from cooperative schemes and informal money lenders (exorbitant interest rates) - inflation rates have a bearing on the profitability of women’s trade. AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS Integration into global markets does generate uncertainties for women. AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

TRADE AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS Importance of trade: positive association between export share in state domestic product and the empowerment of women.(UNCTAD, 2009) Study highlights important role of education in delivering holistic benefits from trade liberalization. Employment opportunities have increased in export oriented sectors (average wages and profits improved) AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

TRADE AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS Broad based and sustained growth (efficient resource allocation) Exchange of knowledge embodied in traded goods & technological advancement Intensive use of abundant factors (focus on endowments) Innovation can lead to development of other areas of comparative advantage AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Recommendations for empowerment of wmn entrepreneurs Conducive policy environment Positioning of women in business (may need affirmative action to level playing field) Favourable national legislation Enhanced access to international markets. Preferential access with built in programmes for improved technical capacity. Proper management of NTMs AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

Recommendations for empowerment of wmn entrepreneurs Focus on Sustainable Development and Green Economy in entrepreneurial activity – key for poverty eradication: Economic development Social equity Environmental protection. AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

OPTIMAL CASE Specific Interventions aimed at development of livelihood sources leveraging enhanced market access through trade liberalization and preferential arrangements that protect the environment, ensure high yields and equitable distribution of returns. AGOA CSO Forum --EMPOWERING WOMEN ENTRPRENEURS TO GAIN FROM TRADE

SIYABONGA THANK YOU MERCI