Empowering women is an essential pre-requisite in promoting economic freedom and growth of the country as women play a substantial role in the development and in moving the country towards progress. The World Bank’s latest analysis of Tanzania posited that Tanzania stands to benefit enormously from expanding women’s economic opportunities, particularly in terms of access to land and productive assets.

The majority of women in Tanzania engage in small business activities, about 54.3% of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Tanzania are owned and operated by women, and most of them are aged 25-40 with a low level of education. Despite the growing number of women in business activities, women still face numerous obstacles which limit their ability to start, build and scale their businesses. For instance, lack of credit and skill development, and limited ownership of productive resources are thought to undermine women from carrying out successful businesses.

It is from this blueprint that Liberty Sparks continue to host different seminars for women, highlighting the major key areas that affect women in starting, building, and scaling up their small businesses. The organization believes that empowering women through education is the antidote for small business failures; again, property rights education to women is the best way to foster awareness, as women have the right to own property like men. This, in turn, reduces the gender gap in owning productive assets such as land and eradicates the rotten status quo that a certain gender is superior to the other in terms of property ownership.

This year on March 18, we conducted a business seminar to a Mosque in Ukonga, an administrative ward in the Ilala District of the Dar es Salaam Region with over 100 Muslim women who were eagerly waiting for the training day, of which the majority of them were loan beneficiaries.

Our CEO, Mr. Evans Exaud started by providing intense criteria for starting a business such as identifying the potential customers, competition, and strategies for ensuring business sustainability. He added that a failure to effective planning and poor record keeping are among the reasons for the failure of many small businesses. Furthermore, he urged that women entrepreneurs should not borrow money without having a suitable business plan or idea.

Additionally, he urged the loan beneficiaries to improve their business environment by adhering to principles of hygiene to attract a wide range of customers, particularly those doing food catering services. Again, he cemented that Liberty Sparks is committed to supporting small business holders to scale up their business activities, he continue by introducing them to a special platform the organization is about to launch within its website that will enable small business holders to post their products and gain visibility to a wider market and The Institute work will be to link the small business holders to potential customers through an online mechanism and this will be a blessing to the small business in the country.

Again, the participants had the chance to identify challenges facing them such as lack of business knowledge and skills, access to property rights education, and limited property ownership among others to be the major setbacks that hold them back from operating successful businesses and remain poor.

In the aspect of Women and Property ownership, Miss Laila from Sheria Poa gave an overview of the aspect of women and land ownership in Tanzania. She pointed out that the majority of women in Tanzania are denied their rights to own properties such as Land due to poor cultural beliefs and lack of awareness. She further stated that women just like men have the right to own productive assets such as land and women must claim their rights.

Lastly, the former councillor gave his vote of thanks and added that the seminar was very useful as it will enable the women in his ward to operate sound businesses that will in turn improve the community.”Regardless of our religions, free enterprises and property right is the key to our problems”, He said.