Lesotho, Feb. 11 -- Every week, dozens of Basotho women queue at the Maseru Bridge border post, bags packed and calculations running through their minds. They are not tourists. They are informal cross-border traders - bo 'mathoto - whose livelihoods depend on navigating customs rules, transport costs, currency fluctuations, and unpredictable border procedures.

Though often missing from national economic conversations, these women sustain households, pay school fees, support extended families, and keep local markets alive. Yet their work remains exposed to policy gaps, limited access to information, and gendered risks within an informal trading system.

Among them is Moratuoa Mavis Motseki, a professional Dental Therapist turned entrepren...