We Want More Avenues For State Capital And Government Tenders, Women Ask

Women have asked for more access to state capital and tenders. Speakers at a forum that was held in Nairobi Wednesday cited that the provision of capital to women, easing the governmental holdups that bar them from venturing into business startups and being able to sell their products is the right way to empower them.

Inadequacy in state capital access is one of the biggest letdowns in women empowerment. The forum, which was chaired by Anna Waiguru, Kirinyaga Governor, dared the government to create more opportunities that deliver capital to women far from the existing platforms, the Women Enterprise Fund and the Uwezo Fund.

“These financial platforms are excellent, however, those in the rural areas are still disadvantaged by several factors in accessing, as such, their households remain financially challenged without any progress,” said Ms. Waiguru.

The Access to the Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) initiative was noted as a brilliant idea but the forum claims there is still a lot to be done. This was said in relation to women attaining the appropriate share of government tenders.

According to Mary Muthoni, the chairperson of Women in Business, a national lobby for the businesswomen, expressly put forth concerns at the low acquisition of national tenders by women through AGPO initiative regardless of the public sensitization.

“Last year’s state tenders under AGPO was worth 200 billion shillings. However, only 50 billion shillings tenders were acquired,” she said.

Lawyer Eunice Lamallas cited the need for court involvement in safeguarding against abuse of the two-thirds gender rule.