Matsidiso Dlamini – Swaziland

A single twig breaks but the bundle of twigs is strong” – Tecumseh

“We appreciate the efforts made by Gender Links in empowering women with business skills; I believe that knowledge is power and no one can take that away”, she said. She encouraged the women to put what they have learnt into practice to make a difference in their lives.

Matsidiso does not limit herself to running only one business, she currently goes around the country teaching groups of women about starting their own small businesses. She has joined a group called “Ligolide Lisetandleni” an organisation which deals with micro business skills and loans.

Before the training Matsidiso used to be a dress maker, making school uniforms and track suits and selling plastic packages used to pack coal in Maputo, Mozambique. The slow growth of the economy led to her business’ failure. She ended up selling the uniforms on credit hoping to recover the cash in the long run. She also blames it on bad decision making and not keeping records correctly. She never bothered saving and could not separate the business from her personal needs. Her plastic package sales dropped due to competition which forced her to halt it indefinitely.

After the training with Gender Links she joined an organisation which trains women in different chiefdoms in making floor polish, Vaseline, sta-soft, jik and liquid soap. Matsidiso then gets paid for training the women, since they pay registration and training fees. She emphasises that “women need to start using the little resources they can lay their hands on to make money and change their mind-sets towards women’s empowerment”. She discourages women who still believe in being supported by their spouses, saying that when a woman contributes to the improvement of the family’s standard of living, it changes the male’s perspective towards his spouse.

Since she attended the training, Matsidiso has never looked back; she has ventured into supplying cleaning material to schools, shops and other bigger organisations in her area. She has also joined in selling herbal remedies from “Phytomed”.

Matsidiso’s success has been confirmed by her family. Her husband, Mfan’zile Sengwayo attests to that by saying “we are pleased with what we have achieved so far; it has changed the way we relate to each other”. He said he used to allow his wife to participate in these women’s empowerment workshops but doubts its credibility because if a woman comes up with an idea, as a man one has to first investigate it before taking a decision. He also mentions that his wife’s contribution to the family’s welfare is commendable. He notes that she works extra hard to contribute to the welfare of the household and she has relieved him of the burden of being the only breadwinner. He felt that his salary was not enough for the family before and now since they work as a team everything is great. “I am now able to visit my family and bring the groceries unlike before, I used to go there empty handed”. They have already bought three cattle and furnished their house at home.

Matsidiso is a woman with many skills, she is a business woman and a business consultant. Working closely with Thabsile Mavimbela they trained 40 women in a support group in the skill of how to make money without being employed. She has roped Nompumelelo Tsabedze in to start making floor polish, Vaseline and liquid soap for herself. They also helped the support group to start a bottle recycling business and we found them busy at work. The money made from this is shared amongst all the members of the group. They also opened a saving scheme whereby they save their profits. These women speak highly of Matsidiso and they are grateful that she has shared all her knowledge with them. They also wish to participate in the workshops organised by Gender Links.

Her mission is to see that other women succeed in life and are able to cater for their family’s needs. Her goal is to share her skills with the youth and empower them to be independent and decrease domestic violence.