Girls, young women empowered with business skills in Lilongwe
Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) has empowered 50 girls and young women in Lilongwe with business skills, in a quest for them to venture into various businesses of their choice and become financially independent.
25 of the girls and young women are from the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Tsabango and the other 25 are from the area of Senior Chief Chiseka respectively.
The girls and young women have been drilled under the project called ‘Technology and Empowerment Enhancing Network in Safe Spaces (TEENS) which GENET is implementing in the country with support from Embassy of Ireland through UNFPA.
Speaking on the sidelines of the closing of six day training at Chiseka on Saturday, GENET TEENS Project Coordinator Mercy Mituka said that as an organization they decided to empower the girls and young women with business skills in order for them to realize their potential in business.
“A lot of girls and young women in rural areas are not economically independent as they fail to do businesses due to lack of skills and resources.
“Therefore as GENET we thought it wise to start empowering these girls and young women with business skills and some resources so that they can realize their potentials in as far as business is concerned,” Mituka said.
She added that the girls and young women who have been equipped with the business skills have been divided into two groups and each group has been given K750, 000 to be used as a startup capital for various businesses which the girls and young women would want to pursue.
Mituka said that, as GENET they are looking forward to see economic transformation amongst the beneficiaries of the business training.
“We want to see these girls and young women transforming their lives as they proceed with their businesses, in addition we want to see them graduating from poverty and they should be able to support themselves as well as their families,” she said.
In her remarks, one of the girls which have been empowered with the business skills, Mayamiko Alan commended GENET for its intervention saying that it will help in transforming her life.
“For a long time I have been struggling to support myself particularly in buying basic needs such such; clothes and soap, but now with the support from GENET I hope my life will change,” Alan explained.
