The SOS Children’s Villages Global Economic Empowerment Validation Conference has identified areas of economic empowerment initiatives that can alleviate child poverty, which has been identified as a major factor affecting the welfare of children.

Held in Gaborone this week, the conference found that key research outcome areas of economic empowerment including, access to credit, savings and grants, financial independence, employment, community- level businesses and partnerships for employment and internships, could reverse the odds of disadvantaged children. The research reveals a myriad of challenges including the fact that caregivers, peasants, entrepreneurs and small business owners cannot easily access finance to expand their business, lack of employment opportunities and gaps between training and employability of youth, among others.

Deputy Director for Community Development in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Delic Sehunwe concurs with these findings as they are reflected on the ground. She said among various challenges that they encounter include access to markets and lack of business acumen. “This is because we often group them together to start projects, for example, a bakery, a backyard garden, but we forget that they individually need business skills,” she said, adding that this is one area that needs focus to ensure that “we support and empower our people”.

Sehunwe added that it is important for beneficiaries to go through ‘ Start your Business’ training before they are given projects. She highlighted that there is also lack of marketing strategies, although the ministry regularly mounts market days quarterly to give entrepreneurs a platform to market their products. “This is also not enough because we want them to penetrate markets like AGOA and be able to use technology to market their products”.

Lack of records and networking skills also add to current challenges. Sehunwe emphasised Botswana government’s commitment to end poverty as cemented by Vision 2036, which calls for prosperity for all, and also anchored by the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs), seven of which are implemented by the ministry. “For example, SDG 1 that speaks of Ending Poverty. Our goal in economic empowerment initiatives is that we do not want anybody to fall into the poverty trap, hence we give them funding to start some small economic empowerment projects,” she said.

They also work towards achieving SDG 2 that speaks of Zero Hunger - through providing skills so that beneficiaries are able to put food on the table through backyard gardens, do food processing projects, among others. The ministry ensures the attainment of SDG3- Good Health and Wellbeing, as well as SDG 4- Quality Education, which supports early childhood development, a programme dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty or stop child poverty.

Efforts towards achieving SDG 10- Reducing Inequalities is supported by a specific programme for rural development called Remote Area Development Programme ( RADP) that comprises of an array of projects, individual and communitybased, among others, in an effort to empower communities. As far as SDG 17- Partnerships is concerned, the ministry believes that they cannot achieve economic empowerment on their own therefore rely on partnerships with like- minded organizations. They have partnered with several NGOs and development partners to assist with economic strengthening in five districts councils in the country. Partners are expected to assist with business plans, marketing products produced by the entrepreneurs. Japan International Cooperation Agency ( JICA) has volunteers based in district and they are responsible for supporting economic empowerment projects, as well as UNDP that supports community development initiatives across districts. USAID helps in setting up women economic empowerment groups across districts, and Palms for Life supports in empowering young women from remote area communities in setting up small businesses. The Economic Empowerment Report recommends that to address the inadequacy of start- up grants and the inability of persons to get start- up capital from banks due to collateral requirements, banks must increase such grants, while working with entrepreneurs to help them prepare viable business proposals in accordance with their lending rules.

“In addition, banks must set up SME help desks and develop relevant products for emerging entrepreneurs who come from disadvantaged households and communities.”

The research findings also advocate for government agencies, international credit institutions to provide credit support to help de- risk bank lending, to reduce the need for collateral, as well as the cost of borrowing. “It is important to examine the entrepreneurship ecosystem around households and communities where the target group of SOS Children’s Villages live, to highlight and mitigate the challenges inhibiting the growth and development.” On youth employability, another recommendation from the report is that there is need for partnerships with more companies to absorb trainees or take on more interns for economic empowerment programmes.

“Coaching and mentorship should be provided as part of employment support, for example, focused on doing mock interviews, self- branding, connecting to highly influential people to work under.” There is also a call by the research subjects to provide support to establish community- level businesses. The research adds that organizations have to support community- based enterprises to mitigate the risks associated with getting capital.