Women showcasing their products at Juba Bazaar. (Video-captured/SSBC).

Some small-scale businesswomen said on Sunday the high cost of renting shops and taxes levied by Juba City Council is making it difficult for them to progress in their businesses.

The entrepreneurs said most of them cannot afford to pay high taxes to the local government.

As a result, some of the women resort to online business, where they receive orders from clients and deliver the products.

They are also encouraging other women to venture into the online business, saying it costs less money compared to opening a shop.

Christen Karlo one of the Bazaar organizers called on women to benefit from the exhibition in selling their products and to overcome shop rental prices.

“The idea of the exhibition came to us due to the high prices for renting shops as well as the fees imposed by the city council. Sometimes after we pay the rent, they ask for six months’ rent, sometimes they ask for a year’s rent in advance,” Ms. Karlo said.

“Therefore, we came up with the idea of the exhibition by saying that anyone who does not have the ability to rent a place can come and take advantage of a space in the exhibition. If they do not have the money to rent a small space.”

“To sell their products, at the previous exhibition we gave free spaces to some vendors to display their products Through our participation in many exhibitions, we learned about the challenges facing sellers.”

South Sudan women entrepreneurs organized a two-day exhibition (locally known as Bazaar) in Juba from Saturday to Sunday.

The Bazaar was under the theme “The Successes of Every Woman should inspire another woman to succeed and rise together. It was to find a way for online traders to sell their products.

Some of the women who participated in the event told the media that they said the exhibition has given them an opportunity to freely market their products.

“Most of the participants in the exhibition are online traders. Exhibitions provide us with opportunities to meet and learn about our products,” said one businesswoman.

“There are women in the residential area of our century. Communication is important to showcase their products as well because there are those who believe that the rent of the place and the prices may be high.”

“We told them that they could benefit from the exhibition in communicating, displaying their products, and getting to know buyers,” said another.

“Our message to women is to work hard. Nothing is impossible. In order to achieve your dreams, you must strive If you don’t know how to start, come to us and we will help you in a women’s gathering place or in an exhibition to share ideas.”

South Sudan’s Ministry of Gender and the World Bank on Wednesday launched a 70 million US dollar project to support female entrepreneurs in formalizing and scaling up their business activities.

The project also will help survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) access vital services that will enable them to recover and rebuild their lives.

The SSWSEEP is a four-year project that will be implemented by South Sudan’s Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare with the support of UN Women.

The project will target 91,000 women and 5,200 adolescent girls while indirectly reaching 673,400 people.