MBABANE. Business Women Eswatini’s Vukani BoMake are on an ambitious mission to turn around the lot of women in the country. BWE is the women’s wing of Business Eswatini.

In partnership with Catalyze and the International Trade Center (ITC) the duo has begun to put together the framework of what insiders claimed will be one of the most ambitious strategies to come out of Business Eswatini towards addressing the prevailing issues holding women back in business. It is apt that the strategy is being crafted in BE’s War Room in the business centre.

It is said that the strategy will also focus on issues of growth and sustainability, which are matters that were not addressed before.

Opening the meeting was the CEO of Business Eswatini Mr. E. Nathi Dlamini who applauded the commitment demonstrated by Mrs. Tokky Hou of Far East Textiles and Ms. Debby Cutting of Catalyze to the service of the budding business women of the country.  Dlamini went further to state that Tokky Hou had been involved in women empowerment programs in as many years and that he was pleased that she was now the driving force behind BE’s latest empowerment

The CEO added that the participation of the International Trade Center in this project is telling if only in terms of the legitimacy of BE’s empowerment programs and the future to which these programs are geared.  He said; “It is amazing to witness the power that women have when they come together to make things happen.”

Mr. Dlamini did not conclude his remarks without recognizing the role which the government has played in making attempts to create a conducive environment for women. He stressed that more needs to be done though.  He said he is proud to be part of this strategy session as he, too, is passionate about advancing the cause of woman in the country.

The strategic meeting was the first and is expected to be followed by another instalment which will come with management development tools with it.

In attendance were the different community leaders of Vukani Bomake, Vukani Youth and Vukani People Living with Disabilities (PLD) planted around the country. Ms Debby Cutting of Catalyze was the strategy consultant, who went on to state the importance of creating a guiding framework in the form of the strategy in order to create one vision that cuts across. She further added that to be more attractive to the larger markets, as Vukani Projects is gearing to do, there must be a harmonized standard of approach hence the importance of the strategy. Ms Debby also stated that she is very happy with the involvement and engagement of the team leaders. She assured participants of the growth potential and the real transformation that will take place in people’s lives once the strategy is executed. Vukani BoMake is a cottage textile industry project whose main aim is to equip the youth, women and people living with disabilities. The Vukani BoMake Project was birthed in the year 2020 right before the start of the pandemic and has since enjoyed a steady growth. The project is currently in operation in 9 constituencies in the country with over 10 members in each.