LAINS shares powerful stories of women economic empowerment in Zimbabwe and Mozambique from nutrition gardens to savings clubs. When women are strong, whole communities thrive.
Discover how LAINS empowers women in Zimbabwe through leadership training, volunteerism, and community programs that champion gender equality.
Empowering women in Zimbabwe and Mozambique through business training is reshaping entire communities. Women have always been marginalised especially in back ward communities in developing Counatries. Empowering women means giving them the skills as well as confidence. This gives this sector of the population chances to earn money to fend for themselves togeher with the families and make informed independent choices. When women are strong, their families eat better, their children go to school, and the whole community grows. Just like the Zimbabwe Teachers Association has advoacted for equal treatment of lady teachers in all spheres of the ministry.
Humankind might question why focusing on the girlchild women economic empowerment in Africa proves that when a woman earns, the whole family rises. But people should understand that women often do most of the work on farms in places like in Mpumalanga in South Africa and at home in Uganda's Kampala. The worrying thing is that sometimes they do not get the same chances as men to learn new things or get money. UN Women says it exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of all women and girls. When a community development program helps a woman, she does not keep the benefits to herself typical of this gender. Studies show that women spend most of their money on their children because . They buy food, medicine, and school books this makes the next generation healthie and smarter. Mothers have everending love
The Ministry of Women Affairs in Zimbabwe has programs to teach women practical skills. In 2024, they helped over 123,000 women learn how to make things like soap, detergent, and food. They also trained women in farming, such as raising chickens (popularly known as road runner) and pigs.
The government also helps start Women Empowerment Clubs which are like small groups (managable number) where women irrespective of marital status learn together. They learn about leadership, how to manage money, and how to start a small sustainable business. By working in clubs, women can share ideas instead of gossiping and help each other. Mai Mufaro of Gambiza said " ini zvangu ndinofara nokuda kweclub yemadzimai nekuti nguva yemakuhwa hatisisina" (Iam so happy about the clubs for wmen as now we no longer have time for gossiping). They can also get small loans from banks made for women, like the Women’s Microfinance Bank after getting letters fron Sabhuku and councellors of that particular ward. Women skills training in community development creates jobs, feeds families, and builds lasting independence
Mining and agriculture are the backborne sectors of Zimbabwe as they contribute a lot to the national grooss domestic product (GDP) A number of women in Zimbabwe are farmers though small scale. But they need money to buy seeds and fertilizer being inputs for agricultural production. Organizations like We Effect help women start Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). In these groups, women save a little money that they would have agreed on which every member can afford every week. They, then can borrow from the group to start a business/project or pay for school fees school going kids.
In Mozambique one country within the sea coastal line, a study was carried out and found that very few agro dealers (people who sell seeds and farm tools) are women with men dominating the industry. Only about 11% of the big dealers and 18% of small shop owners were women. To address this a project called FFSAM held training for women in Chimoio being a ket town. They taught women about the challenges in agribusiness and how to overcome them without crying. The goal is to help more women become business owners in the farming industry.
Still in Mozambique In the Mocuba district, a project called AGRI-FEED is helping 700 farmers, and more than half of them are women. This project teaches climate smart agriculture this means they learn to farm in ways that can survive dry weather, which is common in Mozambique. For energy they use solar power (renewable energy) to run water pumps. Rather than carrying buckets full of water this makes it easier to water the vegetables. The project helps women learn business skills so they can sell more food and waste less.Lains is so pasiionate about training and empowering women through a number of training initiatives.
Zimbabwe and Mozambique are working together by collobarating in various aspects of the economy. Recently the two countries signed agreements to work on women’s development as a way of uplifting a left behind part of society. They want to share ideas on how to help women start cooperatives in most of the districts through village ward committees. A cooperative is a business owned by a group of people who work together with a common vision/goal. This cooperation indeed helps women on both sides of the border hence empowerment.
When women earn their own money the whole family is happy. Women grow vegetables and buy protein rich food, so children are healthy but stronger. In the Lundazi area (near the Zimbabwe border), women in VSLAs said they could now handle emergencies since they have a buffer of money set aside for that. Before such programs if someone fell sick they had no money risking the sick person's life. Thanks be to God now they can borrow from their savings group at interest rates as low as 10%.
Empowering women is a smart way to build strong resilient communities/villages. As we have seen in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, when women get training access to money and a chance to sell their goods they uplift their entire families including extended families. They also create support networks through clubs and cooperatives taking advantage of numbers. By investing in women we are investing in the future where everyone has a chance to contribute and live a much better sweet life.
About the Author
Cosmas Tendai Nemutenzi is a community development practitioner and founder of Lains. He supports initiatives that promote leadership, economic participation, and empowerment for women in communities. His work focuses on encouraging inclusive development and helping communities create opportunities for sustainable growth.
