Mrs Blair for women uplifting
BRITISH Prime Minister’s wife Mrs Cherie Blair has commended Tanzania for its social and economic policies that aim at empowering women, describing the system as important to development.
DAILY NEWS Reporter
BRITISH Prime Minister’s wife Mrs Cherie Blair has commended Tanzania for its social and economic policies that aim at empowering women, describing the system as important to development.
Mrs Blair made the remarks in Dar es Salaam yesterday at a function where the International Finance Corporation (IFC) granted 5 million US dollars (6.5bn/-) to Exim Bank Tanzania Ltd to finance women entrepreneurs.
Practices and policies that are fair and just to all, make a lot of sense economically and work well towards human development, she said.
Mrs Blair’s comments were echoed by IFC’s Director for Environment and Social Development Rachel Kyte. Women constitute a big and unexploited market for many banks and financial institutions in Africa. They are extremely creditworthy and serious investors, she said in a separate interview.
The signing ceremony was also witnessed by First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete and Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Mary Nagu. Ms Kyte said similar programmes had worked in Nigeria and Uganda. They have worked very well and we are now getting more requests from other African countries, she added.
She added that the loans targeted women entrepreneurs because they faced many challenges including lack of collateral and in some cases did not own property such as land and houses.
Women entrepreneurs seeking finance to further develop their businesses face a number of obstacles. Few possess land titles which are often required as collateral for loans. Often applications made by women are not taken seriously by bank officers, she added.
Minister Nagu told hundreds of guests who attended the ceremony that Tanzania was signatory to various international conventions that were against discrimination and cruelty towards women.
Source: Daily News
