WDF awareness campaign targets more women
DODOMA: MORE women are set to benefit from Women’s Development Fund (WDF) loans as the government intensifies awareness efforts, the National Assembly heard on Thursday.
Deputy Minister for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, Engineer Maryprisca Mahundi, outlined three strategies currently being implemented by the government to raise awareness about the fund and enable more women to benefit.
Eng Mahundi said one of the strategies involves collaboration with various stakeholders, including financial institutions, to provide entrepreneurship and business management training through regional economic forums.
She said this while responding to a basic question from Special Seats MP (CCM), Tamima Abass, who sought to know the government’s plans to enhance public awareness of the WDF so that more women can access its loans.
The Deputy Minister said another strategy involves close cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG) and the Economic Empowerment Council to deliver entrepreneurship training to women, youth and persons with disabilities.
“Through PMO-RALG, the Ministry has continued to inform regions and local government authorities about the existence of the fund and has directed them to disseminate this information to the public through various communication channels, including community forums. The key implementers of the fund’s activities are Community Development Officers at all levels,” she explained.
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In a supplementary question, MP Abass wanted to know the government’s strategy for monitoring and evaluating loans issued to women to ensure that the initiatives deliver positive economic outcomes, also sought clarification on collaboration with private institutions and banks to expand women’s access to credit.
Eng Mahundi said the government has put in place mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impact of the loans.
“We, as the Ministry, are already implementing these measures. Our Community Development Officers, down to the ward level, are actively engaging with women to provide guidance and ensure that the loans are used for their intended purposes,” she explained.
She noted that officers at village and ward levels are also educating rural women about the fund, noting that the loans are affordable and supportive compared to informal lending schemes.
Ms Mahundi further said the Ministry was maintaining strong working relationships with financial institutions to enhance women’s access to credit, noting that under these arrangements, women can access loans of up to 250m/- at favourable interest rates.
“Additionally, we are encouraging women to participate in modern agricultural activities, where they can also access financing. Small-scale women miners have also organised themselves into groups to benefit from these opportunities,” she added.
