WITAD’S BUSINESS CURRICULUM DEVELOPS MENTAL HABITS FOR SUCCESS
Author: Sebenzile Dlamini – Founder and Executive Director, WITAD
Through this in-house curriculum on Purposeful Living, Wealth Creation, and Entrepreneurship, WITAD is changing the mindsets and skills of young women in all four regions of Eswatini. The curriculum fosters a mindset shift and application of practical business ideation, planning and management tools. WITAD delivers it through face-to-face training workshops in rural communities.
Digital Course for Scale
Since 2022, WITAD has been improving the digital version of the curriculum. Despite a focus on primarily rural young women who do not have access to the internet for business or professional use, WITAD found it necessary to also offer the curriculum online via an international learning management platform known as Canvas. This approach is meant to increase the number of beneficiaries where such beneficiaries have basic computer skills and access to the internet. The entire digitisation process was planned and managed with the assistance of a team of undergraduate students and Faculty within the Bachelor of Innovation Program at the U.S.-based University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
Sebenzile Dlamini, His Excellency British High Commissioner Simon Boyden, WITAD Chairperson – Tawonga Gondwe. Picture taken by WITAD at the Launch of Digital Skills Training for Rural Young Women.
Content
The course is suitable for all age groups and genders. It has 9 modules, namely:
- Equality and Poverty Reduction
- Purposeful Living
- Wealth Creation, Personal Budget, and Debt
- Entrepreneurship Part One
- Business Planning Part One
- Entrepreneurship Part Two
- Marketing and Sales
- Types of Businesses and Compliance Costs
- Business Planning Part Two – Financial Forecasting.
Rationale for Equality and Purposeful Living
WITAD aims to raise awareness of the need to ensure that children born in economically poor and vulnerable households can change their story as they grow and escape poverty. Also, it is important for children and the youth to avoid making bad choices concerning money and prevent falling into the debt trap, vulnerability, and poverty. Most importantly, the program emphasises that women who create income and wealth can protect themselves and others from vulnerability and poverty.
Demystify Equality
An individual who faces discrimination at household, community and national level can easily avoid thinking highly of herself, taking risks in an entrepreneurship context, and working towards accumulating financial assets over time. Hence, WITAD teaches all women that equality is a human right and Section 20 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland Act of 2005 protects this right. We also explain this concept from a spiritual point of view, in the sense that all human beings are important and equal to the creator of human beings. Therefore, all human beings should have equal access to resources, rights, and services. Inequality is caused by discrimination, greed and a lack of fulfilment of a personal purpose are three of the many reasons for inequality among human beings.
It is not God's intention to have people who are idle all or most of the time. Women's natural mindset does not make them to expect to live off other people throughout their lifetime.Social and religious culture combined with an education system and norms of an economic environment can cause some women to be inefficient and ineffective in fulfilling their purpose.
Purposeful Living
When an individual is not facing discrimination, she can still fail to think and act
entrepreneurially due to a lack of understanding of her purpose. Purpose is a mindset that
aims to achieve a greater good rather than serving self-interest only all the time. It involves
serving humanity through some work. Knowing one's purpose makes it easy her/him to select
business ideas that can make a difference to people's lives and generate fulfilment.
WITAD emphasises that every human being has a mind and soul that guides her/him in fulfilling a purpose. No one is supposed to live aimlessly and do nothing. Hence, everyone has to give meaning to her/his life. Our approach is that every problem is an opportunity to use your mind and leadership skills to produce solutions. God does not accept your self-imposed limitations. He always expects you to use your mind correctly by thinking and speaking positively about your vision and solutions. God wants every woman in any kind of business to release her gift, service, or talent, to the world and gain fulfilment.
Market Forces
When an individual understands what she/he can control through her mindset, she/he is better equipped to analyse market-related forces and identify opportunities that others might not easily see. Such an individual quickly develops mental habits to take business challenges head-on and come out of the troughs of a business cycle as a winner.
Contacts
sebenzile@witad.org.sz
www.witad.org.sz
