By: Ts’oloane Mohlomi
The inclusion of women in multiple sectors within Lesotho’s private sector is essential in stimulating the country’s economy and ensuring a level playing field for all genders and marginalized groups.
This was concluded during the 2023 High level World Customs Organization East and Southern Africa (WCO ESA) gender inclusivity & diversity policy dialogue in Maseru this week. The event hosted by Revenue Services Lesotho, had the theme “Advancing Gender Inclusivity and Diversity in the ESA region”.
With multiple dignitaries from Africa Union (AU) countries in attendance, women in Lesotho were deemed to still be discriminated and ostracized in the business world.
With the private sector being viewed as a key sector in answering the important question of where to look in terms of robust economic growth, one of the key questions was ‘What do women really want in a trade and business environment?’
Speaking at the event Ms Mamashiya Nts’epeng Ts’ita Tikiso, from the BAM Group, with inputs from The Circle of Global Business Women in Lesotho, the Exporters Association Lesotho, The Ministry of Trade Business Development and Tourism, and individual women and youth in businesses, said women want recognition in business, they want involvement in decision making, fair and equal remuneration for the work done in the same positions that their counterparts get. Women need capacity building as it is deemed valuable for the success of every business. Business skills and soft skills are needed for women as many informal businesses exist and need to be capacitated. They do not know what it means to have a registered business, as there is limited access to information.
“Women get intimidated when they cross borders due to lack of knowledge how cross border trading works, and its benefits.There is need for cross border trading review to curb intimidation and improve capacity on same cross border trading. This can be addressed by aavailability of information on customs procedures that has been simplified and written in indigenous language (e.g. Tax and export requirements)”
“The OBFC (One Business Facilitation Centre) exists, but it needs improvement because it isn’t user friendly as if one makes a mistake during the registration process you would have to start again and that would mean a new payment all together. The process might be digitized but the major constraints are that one still needs to wait the following day for the Central Bank to confirm that the payment has been deposited, and that makes it a dubious process,” she said.
Tikiso further stated that standardization and certification is needed because in Lesotho there is so much creativity when it comes to innovation but facilitation is needed with regards to ensuring those ideas flourish and get recognised internationally.
Capacity building on financial management was also indicated as a need as SMME’s lack the skills of handling their finances in a business and can’t separate themselves as individuals from their businesses, which results in them incurring personal costs under the business. Marketing capacity is also essential because MSMEs still don’t understand the bigger picture of what marketing entails.
Intellectual property capacity need was also said to be vital, so entrepreneurs would know the importance of protecting their innovations utilizing legal avenues at their disposal.
Access to finance was also identified as a serious barrier where a woman still needs her husband’s signature in a loan facility, whereas he is not the director of the company, yet a company is said to be an independent and legal entity.
Tikiso said there is a need to have regulated trading enterprises to manage random prices fluctuations, decentralization of business support services for all MSMEs to have same support for their businesses to grow.
Women inclusivity key to thriving private sector
By: Ts’oloane Mohlomi
The inclusion of women in multiple sectors within Lesotho’s private sector is essential in stimulating the country’s economy and ensuring a level playing field for all genders and marginalized groups.
This was concluded during the 2023 High level World Customs Organization East and Southern Africa (WCO ESA) gender inclusivity & diversity policy dialogue in Maseru this week. The event hosted by Revenue Services Lesotho, had the theme “Advancing Gender Inclusivity and Diversity in the ESA region”.
With multiple dignitaries from Africa Union (AU) countries in attendance, women in Lesotho were deemed to still be discriminated and ostracized in the business world.
With the private sector being viewed as a key sector in answering the important question of where to look in terms of robust economic growth, one of the key questions was ‘What do women really want in a trade and business environment?’
Speaking at the event Ms Mamashiya Nts’epeng Ts’ita Tikiso, from the BAM Group, with inputs from The Circle of Global Business Women in Lesotho, the Exporters Association Lesotho, The Ministry of Trade Business Development and Tourism, and individual women and youth in businesses, said women want recognition in business, they want involvement in decision making, fair and equal remuneration for the work done in the same positions that their counterparts get. Women need capacity building as it is deemed valuable for the success of every business. Business skills and soft skills are needed for women as many informal businesses exist and need to be capacitated. They do not know what it means to have a registered business, as there is limited access to information.
“Women get intimidated when they cross borders due to lack of knowledge how cross border trading works, and its benefits.There is need for cross border trading review to curb intimidation and improve capacity on same cross border trading. This can be addressed by aavailability of information on customs procedures that has been simplified and written in indigenous language (e.g. Tax and export requirements)”
“The OBFC (One Business Facilitation Centre) exists, but it needs improvement because it isn’t user friendly as if one makes a mistake during the registration process you would have to start again and that would mean a new payment all together. The process might be digitized but the major constraints are that one still needs to wait the following day for the Central Bank to confirm that the payment has been deposited, and that makes it a dubious process,” she said.
Tikiso further stated that standardization and certification is needed because in Lesotho there is so much creativity when it comes to innovation but facilitation is needed with regards to ensuring those ideas flourish and get recognised internationally.
Capacity building on financial management was also indicated as a need as SMME’s lack the skills of handling their finances in a business and can’t separate themselves as individuals from their businesses, which results in them incurring personal costs under the business. Marketing capacity is also essential because MSMEs still don’t understand the bigger picture of what marketing entails.
Intellectual property capacity need was also said to be vital, so entrepreneurs would know the importance of protecting their innovations utilizing legal avenues at their disposal.
Access to finance was also identified as a serious barrier where a woman still needs her husband’s signature in a loan facility, whereas he is not the director of the company, yet a company is said to be an independent and legal entity.
Tikiso said there is a need to have regulated trading enterprises to manage random prices fluctuations, decentralization of business support services for all MSMEs to have same support for their businesses to grow.