Today, a lot of successful businesses are being run by women. We are witnessing more women rise to take their place in sectors that men had initially dominated. Women are becoming more aware that they also can transform businesses as men could. Hence, indicating that women have the same magic fingers as men.

As a result, many people expect a woman running an SME in Africa to do a remarkable job just like any man would. Hence, as International Women’s Day approaches, many business owners are looking for innovative ways to celebrate women for their relentless efforts and contribute to transforming the business world.

We have carefully highlighted a few ways any SME in Africa can celebrate International Women’s Day.

· Raise Funds For Girls’ And Womens’ Charity
One of the best ways any SME in Africa can celebrate international women’s day is to find innovative ways to empower less-privileged women worldwide, especially in Africa. As we celebrate the women who have shaped the foundations of the world that we live in, we shouldn’t forget the ones who would love to do the same but have little or no opportunity. There are a couple of ways you can do this as a business owner.

First, you can set aside some funds from your business to donate to non-profit women empowerment organizations. This way, less- privileged girls such as orphans or women such as widows can be empowered to actualise their dreams. Keep in mind that nothing is too small to celebrate these women as your widow’s mite may be all they would need to stay alive to keep fighting for their future.

Second, an SME in Africa can collaborate with other SMEs to create a fundraising campaign to empower less privileged women during international women’s day. This is a way out for business owners who would like to do more for women than what they can raise as an individual organisation. Funds raised can be geared towards helping women secure quality education, start up a business, or get something to eat.

· Create A Mentorship Platform For Women
Every SME in Africa needs proper mentoring to succeed. Reports indicate that about 67% of women understand that mentoring is a crucial aspect of their career advancement. However, the sad part is that only 10% of these women have a mentor. So, if you are an experienced business owner, you can offer to mentor as many women as you can. You don’t have to worry that your experience is too little to make any impact. All you need to do is to find women with less experience than you and impact your knowledge.

However, if you are too shy to mentor these women on your own, you can collaborate with other business owners. Another alternative will be to secure the service of a reputable consultant or mentor to help them. This way, you don’t have to take the responsibility of mentoring people by yourself. You may be able to pitch your idea to a consultant in such a way that you may not even need to pay a dime to secure their services.

· Start With Your Employees
If you have women among your team, one of the ways to celebrate international women’s day is to celebrate them. You can get them some gift and gift cards that indicate how much you appreciate their efforts in your business’s success. However, the celebration should be more centred towards your appreciation of all they do despite the challenges they have to face as women in a “not so women-friendly sector”.

You can come up with a special event on the day to celebrate your female employees. Most times, we rack our brains trying to celebrate and appreciate people who may not even notice or appreciate our efforts at the expense of people that depend on them as a source of motivation to keep pushing. One of the ways to fix this is to celebrate your female employees. Let every member of your team give them a standing ovation. If it is not a bother, send them personalised messages about how much they mean to you and your business

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