Embajada de España ante Zimbabue, Zambia y Malaui

This afternoon in Harare, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hon. Sheillah Chikomo, officially launched the Creating Opportunities for Youth and Women in Africa (COYWA) Programme in Zimbabwe. Grounded in the Second Republic's flagship "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" doctrine and aligned with the upcoming 25th COMESA Summit, the project gives immediate, practical expression to inclusive regional industrialisation by systematically dismantling financial and structural barriers for youth and women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Implemented in a multilateral alliance with the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB), AUDA-NEPAD, and the Spanish Government, Zimbabwe proudly joined Ethiopia, Kenya, and Seychelles in hosting a specialized COYWA Business Incubator. This domestic hub will focus entirely on value addition within the leather and leather products sector, training rural and underserved entrepreneurs to convert raw hides into premium, export-ready goods. By offering intensive entrepreneurship training, digital literacy, and technical mentorship while calling on financial institutions to back start-ups with credit guarantees. This landmark initiative seamlessly translates economic diplomacy into sustainable local enterprises, decent job creation, and active participation in the AfCFTA.