SWEET RAISES E7M IN THREE YRS

SWEET Board members sharing a light moment. (L-R) MP Thuli Dladla, Ndo Dombojena and Sibongile Mdluli.

MANZINI – The Swaziland Women Economic Empowerment Trust (SWEET) Fund, pioneered by Her Majesty the Indlovukazi, has accumulated savings worth approximately E7 million in three years.
When forming the fund, the Indlovukazi wanted to address the issue of financial exclusion, especially as it affected women.

Sibongile Mdluli, the Chairperson of the Fund, explained that the savings showed a significant growth from E112 000 at inception to E500 000 the following year then E7 million in the 2014 financial year.
Speaking during the organisation’s third annual general meeting held at the Mavuso Trade Centre, Mdluli attributed the growth of savings to the increase of membership in the last three years.
She said they started with 1 300 members and the number multiplied to the current figure of 20 338 members.

Background

Giving a brief background about how the fund was formulated, Mdluli said: “Our journey began as an assignment by Their Majesties to address the issue of financial exclusion, in particular women.
“At first we did not have an idea of how to address this assignment but ended up commissioning a feasibility study for the financial inclusion of women, which culminated in the Board setting to address the challenges faced by women.”
She said based on the findings of the study, the SWEET concept was underpinned by women needs and challenges in society.

In the following years, Mdluli said it emerged to them that the lack of a framework to govern their operations was limiting growth and the scope of services that they could provide to their members, hence they saw a need for drafting a business plan.

The business plan marked the beginning of a new journey that has taken the organisation deeper into the financial lives of women in the country.
“It is a journey of greater responsibility and wholesome opportunities to save, transact and borrow our members who in turn will have trusted us to safeguard, prudently invest and grow their hard earned savings and by doing so, create their wealth,” she said.

Mdluli mentioned that they were mow migrating to the second phase of the project, which was to enable SWEET to give full financial services to its membership all over the country.
In the first phase, Mdluli said they focused mainly on the mobilisation of membership and savings.

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