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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter

WOMEN entrepreneurs from Matabeleland North province are keen on capacity-building partnerships towards embracing intellectual property rights (IPRs) so as to protect their designs and realize more business value.

Globally, the adoption of IPRs is a serious business and entrepreneurs derive massive value from registered trademarks and patents of their innovations.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols, names, and images used in commerce.
IP is protected at law by, for example, patents and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.

By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, WIPO says the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity recognisation can flourish.

In an interview, Lupane Women’s Development Trust (LWDT) director and interim chairperson of Matabeleland North export cluster under ZimTrade, Mrs Hildegard Mufukare, said as a cluster they were eager to obtain IPR recognition to grow their business.

“As women work as individuals it doesn’t matter what they design but they don’t own it. We hope that the cluster can then have a way of ensuring that intellectual property rights are realised and recognised,” she said.

“Whoever is going to be copying from their designs must make sure that the women are benefiting.”
Mrs Mufukare said it is now easy for people to benefit from other people’s designs whilst the owner is excluded because some clever people can take it over and register it as their own IPR.

She said urgent measures must be taken by relevant ministries to help SMEs including rural women producers on registering their IPRs to make sure that they benefit more from their innovations. Surveys have shown that most innovations in various sectors including art and craft are not registered as intellectual property.

Mrs Hildegard Mufukare

LWDT, formally known as Lupane Women Centre is a training, information and marketing place for women who are involved in various weaving and related projects.

The centre has a membership of more than 4  500 people who are into weaving, cropping, and small livestock keeping. Of the total members, more than 420 are successful weavers who supply both domestic and international markets.

The trust is part of the Matabeleland North export cluster, which has been established by ZimTrade in a bid to grow exports from the provincial level. – @SikhulekelaniM1.