The Secretary of State for Promotion and Socio-Economy of women (SEM) Veneranda Lemos Martins said her institution will partner with the Institution for Support to Enterprise Development (IADE) to provide training to women’s groups and women contractors.
She said the VI constitutional government will not offer money, rather it will provide training on business plan development to women’s groups and will look at how the groups can access credit at the National Central Bank of Timor-Leste (BNCTL).
“SEM will monitor their ability to access credit through BNCTL because business can run properly on credit and there will be more sustainability of public transfers of capital to the people,” said SE Lemos in Delta Nova, Dili.
She added they are running the second phase of the training with more than 100 participants developing a business plan and getting financial management training.
SE Lemos also urged the women’s associations in the municipalities to identify women’s groups who are part of cooperatives and inform SEM so that it can provide training and finds solutions for these groups including access to markets for women producers.
Meanwhile the President of Baucau Women’s Association Regina de Sousa said that it is currently looking for funds to support and facilitate small women’ groups to develop their business activity in order to improve the families income.
She added they have identified women producer groups in Baucau municipality and they are mostly producing the virgin oil, chips, horticulture, tais, and raising animals.
She said, the big obstacle that rural women face is financial and this prevents them from taking part in public community activities.
