LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s National Association of Business Women (NABW) is set to launch its advocacy paper under the project Enhancing Gender-Inclusive Public Procurement and Open Contracting in Malawi.

The Launch and presentation of the Advocacy Position Paper on Gender-Responsive procurement slated today, Thursday in the capital Lilongwe at Crossroads Hotel aims at facilitating dialogue among stakeholders on inclusive procurement reforms, engaging the media in promoting women’s economic participation.

NABW Executive Director Barbara Banda told The Maravi Post in an interview that women-led enterprises in Malawi continue to face barriers in accessing public procurement opportunities including limited access to information and procurement platforms, inadequate awareness of procurement policies such as the MSME Order 2020, limited capacity to prepare compliant bids and financial and collateral constraints hence the launch.

“The Advocacy Position Paper provides evidence from policy analysis, stakeholder interviews, and consultations, identified gaps in the procurement ecosystem, recommended gender-inclusive procurement reforms, practical measures for MDAs, SOEs, PPDA, and policymakers.

“The paper also advocates for gender quotas or set-asides for women-owned enterprises, simplified bidding requirements and strengthened implementation of MSME Order 2020,” discloses Banda.

The event has attracted government institutions, state-owned enterprises, civil society, private sector players, and women-led businesses and among others.

The National Association of Business Women (NABW), with support from the Women and Girls Fund (WGF), is implementing a national advocacy project titled Enhancing Gender-Inclusive Public Procurement and Open Contracting in Malawi.

The Maravi Post