Lack of vital information about products and services on demand in the foreign markets,language barrier and high transportation costs continue to hinder efforts of Rwanda businesswomen from accessing the larger global market…
Rwandan women entrepreneurs through a specialized training program-Access Program, funded by the Canadian government are slated to enhance their access to a wider global market for their products and services.
“This Access Program aims at supporting women businesses through facilitating trade and making them understand the constraints they are facing”, explains Sebastien Turrel chief commercial officer of centre du commerce international.
“We are not supporting them financially but technically through knowledge training, market access , providing them online resources and online promotion”, Turrel explains.
For the start, 60 women entrepreneurs have been selected by Rwanda Development Board and the private sector federation. The selected women already have established businesses including handcraft businesses, horticulture and textile and leather.
The targeted women managers include those already exporting or with exporting potential and national trade organizations. The program is in line with ITCs mandate of supporting private sector development, strengthening capacities of women-owned businesses building a network of strong partners and accessing foreign markets among others.
The program specifically aims at increasing the capacities of public and private partners in beneficiary countries, directly supporting women entrepreneurs to be export ready and accessing foreign markets with innovating products, contributing better revenues and improved services.
Women at the training explained that challenges including language barrier and Lack of proper knowledge on what the market demands in terms of quantity, quality, and products continued to hinder their access to foreign markets.
While voicing her concern, Ntibagwire Donatille, managing director of Floris, a company that specializes in the sale and exportation of fruits says “transportation of our products to overseas markets is expensive , that’s why the prices of our products are higher than those of some of our competitors such as in Uganda. The same product that is sold in Uganda could almost be one dollar cheaper than here she says”.
Ntibagwire explains,“The current demand for our products is due to popularity of organic products in Europe but the situation could be much better”. She adds that the high transportation costs would be solved through increased government subsidies similarly done in other countries.
She also points out that they need to be more aware of some the market demands and what they are asking for.
This weeklong program drew experts from Cameroon, Senegal, Uganda and South Africa that will train Rwanda women entrepreneurs in components such as business counseling export training, trade information and access to foreign markets. A total of more than 800 women have been trained across Africa.
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