Step up your money game this year dear sister Delegates to the Beijing Conference at a plenary session in this file photo

Andile Tshuma

Almost four decades after independence, women are still clamouring for ownership of resources, most of them are still in poverty and rely on male bread winners in their families to provide for them.

We are in the second week of the new year and as such it is still an opportune time to add a resolution to your list. 

How about stepping up your money game and aim to live within your means? Trust me, I understand it’s hard to stick to a budget and have some discipline on money given that prices go up weekly but we should do our best to save the little. 

Being financially responsible is important for your health and your financial life. To live within your means implies that what you spend each month is less than or at least equal to the amount of money you bring in each month. For many people, it’s easier said than done.

You could actually take it further to living below your means as living within is often about breaking and not saving. Living below your means will allow you to keep going and also to save for rainy days. Just resist the pressure to have the same material things as the people around you or those on television. It’s not worth it. You keep up with the neighbours, that couple at church, or with that girl at the office, then what? 

Think about the time you spend on social media platforms, that time can be used productively. You can be the woman that sells stuff online, find your niche and a product you think your potential market will love, which can be profitable for you, so that while you indulge on social networking, you are also into some network marketing or other form of business. 

Be aware of scams though, before you entrust anyone with your money, do your research, be on the lookout for pyramid schemes under the guise of get rich quick network marketing gimmicks. Protect your money bag. 

Money ensures the emancipation of women from poverty and oppression by even their spouses and partners and money creates an independent mind. Apart from that, money guarantees women’s freedom in the way they manage homes and family matters.

According to research, globally, women still live in abject poverty 20 years after the Beijing Conference where issues pertaining to gender equity and equality were discussed and resolutions tabled to address the anomalies to ensure that both men and women take part in socio-political and economic issues.

Money, according to women, represents power. Not all women can start and run a business, but if it’s in you, how about trying to venture into something this year. Do your research and on finances, consult the Women’s Bank for tailor made loans for women. 

Our patriarchal society frowns upon assertive women who strive towards financial independence and the ideal patriarchal set up is where a woman is fully dependant on their husbands or any other male figure in their lives. 

This is a tradition that suppresses women and regard them as perpetual minors always under the wings of their husbands or male relatives. Women are therefore generally excluded from the financial system.

It is challenging for them and youths as well, to secure financial assistance from the conventional banking system as most of them lack collateral.

Without such critical security to back up their loan applications, women and youths have tended to rely on short term loans that are typically costly and come in small amounts. Short term, costly and small loans aren’t ideal for any serious business but long term and affordable loans.

Women also face restrictions in mobility and lack of time due to the unpaid work burden.

In order for women to realise income, there is need to know about the opportunities that are available to them in the key economic sectors, that is agriculture, mining and tourism bearing in mind the existing economic situation.

Women also need financial literacy and management skills so that they are well versed on how to handle business transactions.

There is also need to continually reflect and implement the policies that ensure women’s full participation in the economy and to fully recognise particular needs of women.

There is need to support women’s collective action in rural areas so that women can access production resources such as finance, training and processing technologies including irrigation systems.

The Women’s Bank is a gem and a trailblazer for women and in this regard, Zimbabwe is a torchbearer as it established the first bank for women and youths in the Sadc region, however women still need intensive training on how to establish and run businesses. 

A loan at an affordable interest rate amounts to nothing if it is given to someone who lacks technical know-how to run a successful business. A fuller package would mean that, in addition to making available long-term loans, in the right amounts and at affordable interest rates, borrowers would receive thorough training in how to run a business. They can be assisted to choose the right industries to invest in as well. Not everyone must rear chickens or run a soap-making enterprise. There must be other areas that are just as rewarding, or more, than poultry and soap-making.

Empowerment must not be for the urban women only. These empowerment drives must be tailor-made for women in rural set ups too and loan facilities should be made easily available to them. 

Physical access to banks has presented challenges to potential clients and the banks themselves. Many are based in towns and a few nearer to where the people live, especially in rural areas. The bosses at the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank might want to achieve a geographical reach as that which the POSB boasts of. In cases where circumstances don’t allow that decentralisation, the bank could open up agencies down to districts so that more women and youths can access services.

Dear woman, step up your money game. Whatever little money comes your way this year, think differently about it. Happy saving! – @andile_tshuma

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