A women in business forum funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) opens in Nairobi today (Wednesday) seeking to discuss economic empowerment for their businesses.
The SheTrades in the Commonwealth project implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) over two years, from April last year to next year March, will consist of a business-to-business meeting and a panel discussion on best practices that contribute to the UN sustainable development goals, including empowerment of women.
It is aimed at reaching CEOs and heads of procurement in large firms.
As part of ITC’s SheTrades initiative, the project aims to increase economic growth and job creation in Commonwealth countries by enabling the increased participation of women-owned businesses in international trade.
Women entrepreneurs from the IT, business process organisation, textiles and apparel, and agriculture sectors will join Anita De Werd, the regional head of marketing Africa and SCL, A.P. Möller - Maersk, and Florence Kiburi, senior manager, supply chain operations at Safaricom in the discussions.
They will exchange ideas on how private sector partners including large corporations and multinationals, could contribute to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through women’s economic empowerment.
The workshop will help the women find opportunities available for them to contribute to the SDGs, get knowledge on how to integrate the gender approach to businesses, and how the SheTrades can improve on women’s empowerment through trade.
Last year, SheTrades helped Nairobi-based women entrepreneurs set up online shops for their merchandise, which would enable them to access global markets through platforms such as eBay.
A number of Kenyan online shops are running on the eBay platform, including a specialty tea seller, and interior furnishings.
