Thirty-four year old Mamit formed a concrete blocks manufacturing company in Bahir Dar with 15,000 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (approximately US$1,600) in 2004 from household savings and credit from family members. In less than four years, she grew her business to ETB 500,000 (approximately US$55,000) in annual turnover. She employs 63 people in her two block making plants and quarry. Mamit attributes the idea for her company to participation at the ILO's Improve Your Business training in 1996. During the training, a group project exercise on the block making industry helped her to see the increasing demand for the material resulting from the booming construction sector. Ethiopia. Photo: ILO/T. Tesfaye. Photo:ILO/

Gillian began her secretarial and printing services business in 2005. Her membership in the Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business has enabled the honing of her business management skills and participation in the Month Of the Woman Entrepreneur celebrations as well as exhibitions and trade fairs which provide a platform for new opportunities, networking and new markets. Today, she pays herself and her six workers a salary with the monthly business income of between Zambian Kwacha (ZMK) 800,000 to ZMK 6 million (approximately US$ 240 to US$ 1,840). Zambia. Photo: ILO/P. Korpinen. Photo:ILO/

Mwantatu's business has grown from an informal, part-time hair salon carried out in her home to a formally licensed enterprise decorating the hands and feet of women with henna. Her recent participation in the ILO's Improve Your Exhibiting Skills training, organized in partnership with the Zanzibar Association of Disabled Persons enabled her to take part in an International Trade Fair at Saba-Saba grounds where she met and exchanged experiences with other women entrepreneurs from the mainland. At the fair, she also managed to promote her business, locally and internationally. She pays both herself and her three full-time workers a salary with the business income generated of about Tanzanian Shillings (TZS) 50,000 (approximately US$ 41) a day. Tanzania. Photo: ILO/R. Kapur. Photo:ILO/Kapur R.

Susan is deaf and HIV positive. She started a business selling mobile phones and operating a telephone shop with seed money from her late husband. Access to training in the ILO's Improve Your Exhibiting Skills organized by the Zambia Federation of Disabled Persons and the Zambia Federation of Women in Business helped boost her confidence to seek a another location in the city centre to expand her phone booths and diversify her products. Her business currently generates from between ZMK 600,000 to ZMK 1,000,000 (approximately US$ 160 to US$ 271) per month. Zambia. Photo: ILO/F. Mambwe. Photo:ILO/

A combination of household savings and a loan of ETB 140,000 (approximately US$15,000) from a housing and savings bank enabled Askale to construct a building for her kindergarten, acquire furniture for classroom and office facilities and allow for some working capital in 2004. She says that ILO-supported training provided through her membership in the Amhara Women Entrepreneurs' Association has enabled honing of her leadership skills and setting up of appropriate systems in her business. Today, her kindergarten has 170 children. She employs 14 people and generates annual income of ETB 165,000 (approximately US$ 17,600). Ethiopia. Photo: ILO/T. Tesfaye. Photo:ILO/

A loan of Ugandan Shillings (UGX) 30,000 (approximately US$ 18) from Blind But Able, a local NGO that trains blind people in adapting to daily living situations and developing hand skills, helped Deborah start her business as a small shop owner nearly eight years ago in Kakiri, Wakiso District. She not only sells crates of soda and beer but also dispenses water from a tank she installed on her home property. She came up with the idea to install the tank during an ILO-supported training given to the women¿s group to which she belongs, Wakiso District Disabled Women and Girls Association. A loan from Centenary Bank secured the funds to purchase the pipes for the tank. Uganda. Photo: ILO/S. Basaba. Photo:ILO/

Having contracted leprosy during her childhood, 70 year old Chaltu was accustomed to begging for a living, that was, until she received ETB 500 (approximately US$ 53) from her son-in-law. She used the money to purchase hops and charcoal and resold them for a small profit at her village market. Then, in 2004, she heard about ILO-supported training in Improve Your Business that promotes small business growth among women entrepreneurs by facilitating access to skills development, credit, and new markets. Participation in the ILO training enabled Chaltu to gain knowledge on procurement, marketing, credit access and handling income and expenditures. After training, Chaltu was able to access credit funds, which she has repaid in full. She has recently expanded her business to include live chickens and different kinds of spices. Her average monthly income is ETB 900 (approximately US$ 95). Ethiopia. Photo: ILO/T. Tesfaye. Photo:ILO/

Florence employs three people at her crafts shop and sells many of her products in the local market. She says her memberships at the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs' Association and Uganda Small Scale Industry Association helped introduce her to better ways of running her business and has enabled contacts with business representatives from different countries at exhibitions. Her business generates from UGX 800,000 to UG$3 million shillings (approximately US$482 to US$1,807) a month. Uganda. Photo: ILO/S. Basaba. Photo:ILO/

Through friends, Hilda learned how to make peanut butter. She used savings from her previous business, supplemented by a contribution made by her husband, to buy a 15 kilogram can of shelled grounds nuts and started her business making peanut butter in 2006. ILO-training in Improve Your Exhibiting Skills and marketing, supported by the Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business and the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities, has helped Hilda strengthen her business acumen and access a broader public. Her business generates an average income ranging from ZMK 250,000 to ZMK 500,000 per month (approximately US$ 72 and US $145). Zambia. Photo: ILO/F. Mambwe. Photo:ILO/

Monica started her food processing business in 2000. She gained support for her enterprise from the Morogoro Women's Trust Fund business incubator programme which provided training in food processing methods and technologies. She also attended other skills building courses such as How to Handle Your Business, organized by Sokoine University of Agriculture, and ILO training and seminars on business and management skills for enterprises. Monica says the ILO training has given her confidence and has taught her how to structure her business and market her products to shops. Today, Monica's food products are sold to other regions outside Morogoro - Tanga, Dar es Salaam and Dodoma. Her business generates monthly profits of up to TZS 800,000 (approximately US$700). Tanzania. Photo: ILO/R. Kapur. Photo:ILO/

Martina started weaving Kikoi fabric in 1999. With a small amount of capital, one machine and a few customer orders, her business struggled to get by, until she joined the Morogoro Women Weavers' Group. There she received some business training. Later she joined the Vocational Education and Training Authority where she trained as a teacher and learned about business management. She also met with the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (TTCIA) and did more business training at the Small Industries Development Organization, both organizations are ILO partners. Through TTCIA she received an invitation to attend a seminar on Women's Entrepreneurship Development in Dar es Salaam where she found new opportunities for expanding her business. Today, Martina has four machines and employs eight workers. Tanzania. Photo: ILO/R. Kapur. Photo:ILO/

At 32, Elina considers herself an example of success, against all odds. Elina is a self-employed tailor. She contracted polio at the age of five, but did not let her disability stand in the way of realizing her dreams. Today, Elina works hard to provide quality garments to her customers. She credits much of the strengthening of her core business management skills to the Zambia National Association of Disabled Women. Through this association, she attended training in management, exhibition skills and has also participated in the Month Of the Woman Entrepreneur celebrations. Elina's average monthly income ranges between ZMK 400,000 to ZMK 1 million (approximately US$ 118 to US$ 295). Zambia. Photo: ILO/F. Mambwe. Photo:ILO/

The ILO encourages women entrepreneurs to create networks and groups as a means to strengthen business operations, share knowledge and information, provide support to one another, and access credit. Victoria attributes her recent business expansion from floral services to food catering to ILO training provided through the Vocational Education and Training Authority in the Tanga region. Through training, she learned about keeping accounts, marketing and strengthening ongoing business projects. Establishing the valuable link to the business and skills development training was the women¿s social group to which she belongs. During a good month, Victoria is able to earn TZS 3 million shillings (approximately US$2,490). Tanzania. Photo: ILO/R. Kapur. Photo:ILO/

Benedicta recycles plastics into products such as handbags, earrings, bags and mats. Through her group, the Kinawataka Women's Development Initiatives, which is made up of women of various categories - HIV-positive, single mothers, widows, orphans and women with disabilities - she teaches other women her craft, in this way inspiring them to create business opportunities for themselves. Participation at Improve Your Exhibiting Skills training conducted by the Uganda Women's Entrepreneurs' Association Ltd. has taught her effective exhibition skills to promote her handicraft at home and abroad. Uganda. Photo: ILO/S. Basaba. Photo:ILO/

Skills training in tie and dye material provided by the Women Entrepreneurs' Development Association of Zambia (WEDAZ), an ILO partner, enabled Grace to start her own business in 2001. WEDAZ also offered training in business management, links to micro-financing institutions where she has accessed funds to grow her business, and opportunities to participate in trade shows for displaying and marketing her products. Today, Grace shares her knowledge and experience with aspiring and practicing women entrepreneurs in her community, using ILO-supported training tools designed to build business management skills, know-how and access to new markets. Zambia. Photo: ILO/F. Mambwe. Photo:ILO/

Joweria started her pottery business seven years ago with the aim of helping persons, including children, with disabilities, the elderly and orphans. She attributes some of her success to membership in the National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda, an ILO development partner. She says that training in Improve Your Exhibiting Skills provided by the association helped increase her understanding of the benefits of participation at trade fairs as a means to advertise her crafts and access new markets. Her group, called the Kajjansi Disabled Development Group, also assists women living with HIV/AIDS by providing jobs and, in some instances, has helped pay for medicine. Though her monthly business sales vary, a good month can generate as much as UG$6 million (approximately US$ 3,500). Uganda. Photo: ILO/S. Basaba. Photo:ILO/