Women entrepreneurs from the Realiza Project and the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Mozambique (APME) gathered last week in the BCI auditorium in Maputo for a networking meeting promoted by the MUVA Association, in partnership with the BCI and APME.

he event aimed to increase access to the beneficiaries' networks and provide them with better knowledge about services, projects, advantages and ways of registering.

'Associativism' was the topic presented by APME's executive director, Rosário Gemusse, who urged female entrepreneurs to join the association she heads in order to take advantage of the existing benefits.

On the sidelines of the meeting, she gave a positive assessment of the meeting, promising good results, given the encouraging number of women who "have gradually legalized themselves and joined the association".

He also said that APME "is currently energizing and reactivating the memorandum of understanding it has with the BCI. We're off to a good start," he said. And he concluded: "we find our link with the BCI advantageous, which is why we want to continue".

The BCI's Director of Public Relations, Heisler Castelo David, welcomed the initiative, which "in addition to bringing together female entrepreneurs and trade associations, aims to connect and present the services and benefits of these associations that meet the needs of female entrepreneurs' businesses, and thus foster opportunities for hiring them". She also spoke of the importance of formalizing women entrepreneurs' businesses, with a view to facilitating access to the opportunities that the Bank offers.

The MUVA representative, Loureine Mondlane, stressed that the Realiza Programme's activities seek to respond assertively to the main challenges facing women-led businesses, including legalization, expanding the network of contacts and clients, new technologies, human resources, marketing and sales, through the available platforms implemented in partnership with various specialized organizations or institutions.

Realiza is a program to strengthen women-led businesses, implemented in the cities of Nampula, Beira, Matola and Maputo, with funding from the World Bank.