Women-owned businesses make an inrcedible impact to the economy – from mama mbogas to women who run medium-sized enterprises; their contribution cannot go unnoticed. However, some of these businesses are stiill being held back – from access to resources to balancing work and family lfe, women entrepreneurs have always faced various challenges in how they run their busineses.
Even in an age of social media that’s blowing up all over, the pandemic has significantly delayed the progress of some of these businesses due to contiuous lcckdows, curfews restrtrictions and the loss of jobs of almost 2 million Kenyans making it hard for new businesses to set foot in their respective industries.
To help curb this, Unilever’s Sunlight, invested in a five-year programme to support women in business through various initiatives such as financial literacy training and advertising. An estimated 100,000 women entrepreneurs are expected to directly benefit from the ‘Sunlight Women of More’ programme. The campaign is pegged on Sunlight’s uplifting attitude toward women in East Africa.
This year, Unilever’s Sunlight, has invested in a five-year programme to support women in business through various initiatives such as financial literacy training and advertising. One of these entreprenerus is Margaret Mwikali Munyao who runs an online furniture shop from Machakos town. She started her business during the Covid period and even with the uncertainties that the pandemic would bring, she still pushed through. One of those uncertainties was obviously capital and getting a workshop where they can make and sell the products from.
As much as it is a bit challenging to run a furniture business, especially since she is currently working from someone else’s workshop, she says that business is booming.
“I thought it would be hard to start and manage this business. First, most people are used to men making their furniture so some are surprised when they find me at the shop – but when they see my unique designs they immediately want to buy them.
Another thing is i thought I wouldn’t get enough clients especially during this Covid period but with my online presence, I have customers from any part of the country. All they have to do is let me know their location and we work out how to send their products.
Seeing how hard it sometimes is to get your business known, I was really grateful and honestly shocked when Sunlight called to tell me that they would give my business advertising space. It gave me so much joy to see myself on a billboard and I’m forever grateful for all that Sunlight has done tp empower and uplift women-pwned businesses especially during such trying times.”
