Waso receives donation from local telecom company Airtel |05 September 2019

Mr Dina hands over the equipment to Mrs Elizabeth

The Seychelles Business Incubator for women, a programme aided by the Women in Action and Solidarity, has received a boost with a donation of kitchen equipment yesterday.

Local telecommunications company, Airtel, donated a large capacity oven, a showcase chiller, two standing fans and several baking tools which are expected to improve on the service offered by the Women in Action and Solidarity (Waso).

The handover ceremony was held at the Waso premises in Providence and was attended by the managing director of Airtel Seychelles Amadou Dina, chief executive of the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (Ceps) Michel Pierre and the representative of the European Union (EU), one of the partners of the Business Incubator.

Waso’s incubator programme provides skills development based on women’s needs and equips them with skills such as sewing, developing artworks, recycling and baking.

The pastry and baking course, held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, attracts many women with over 20 having signed up for this year alone.

The members of the course are divided into two groups – one held every Wednesday and taught by Marie-Neige Madeleine and another on Saturday taught by Philippe Marie for those who cannot attend during the week.

Rose-Mary Elizabeth, chairperson of Waso, explained that the organisation has been facing various difficulties in delivering their services to their female clients since some of the equipment, particularly the oven, was in a bad state.

“We were using something small and were trying to manage the best we could. The participants and instructors put pressure on me to find better equipment because they could not manage to use the old one effectively. So here we are with a new beginning but we hope it won’t be the last sponsor from Airtel and others who want to assist the programme,” Mrs Elizabeth.

She remarked that some of the women undertaking the pastry and baking course are already testing their products on the local market and placing their goods in various shops as a means to earn a small income.

“Most of the people who come to us are those looking to start a business or seeking an additional income through part-time employment and that is good for women. We are faced with severe financial crises at time and if we depended only on what we earn at the end of the month, most of the time after paying all these loans, there is hardly anything left; but if you do something else in your spare time, you can also earn additional income.”

Waso also provides training for business start-ups which they have increased from two to three training sessions per year.

On his part, Mr Dina stated that Airtel is glad to help the community and commended Waso for its works in empowering women in Seychelles.

He added that the donation is the first part of Airtel’s sponsorship and that the company would be looking into more ways to support the organisation.

Nadine Cecile, 41 from Persévérance, started the course three months ago as a self-employed who was seeking other avenues for revenue and she now takes order from friends and families.

“I have always wanted to learn how to bake, I had tried on my own and it was not coming out well so I jumped on the opportunity and I have been doing well. But the oven we were using [at Waso] was a challenge; we had to hit it so that it could close properly. It was also small so we had to bake our cakes a few at a time or when we were setting it on certain temperatures it would burn the cakes. The new oven has come at the right time,” she stated.

Ms Cecile hopes to have her own bakery similarly to 52-year-old Rachel Mangroo from Beau Vallon.

“I was a teacher by profession and seeing kids eating fatty and unhealthy made me want to open a bakery based on healthy eating, focusing on baked rather than fried,” Mrs Mangroo remarked.

“I was already baking some cakes, my daughter and I would look for recipes on YouTube but we still had elements missing. I have learnt a large variety of things since joining this training programme.”

With skills acquired in an entrepreneurship training a few years ago at the then Seychelles Institute for Management (SIM) and at Waso, Mrs Mangroo is hoping to open her own bakery and is presently selling her pastries at shops located in Beau Vallon.

The handover ceremony yesterday wrapped up with some snacks and refreshments prepared and baked by those following the course and they now know they will no longer have to hit their oven for it to close.