In Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis - Cairo to host First ILO/AfDB Pan-African Forum on Women’s Entrepreneurship Development

CAIRO/TUNIS/ADDIS ABABA (ILO News) – The First Pan-African Forum on Women’s Entrepreneurship Development (WED) in response to the financial and economic crisis – jointly organized by the African Development Bank (AfBD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) under the patronage of the First Lady of Egypt, Her Excellency, Madam Suzanne Mubarak, – will be held from 27-29 October 2009 in Cairo, Egypt.

This joint Regional forum aims at exploring concrete challenges and opportunities to promote women-owned enterprises in response to the crisis. AfDB strongly believes in fostering women entrepreneurship as a tool for economic growth. The Bank is committed to assist in the promotion of gender equality and women entrepreneurship mainstreaming in Africa through its African Women in Business (AWIB) Initiative. ILO provides technical expertise through its Women's Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WED) and projects Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (WEDGE). The forum takes place within the framework of the implementation of the African Women In Business (AWIB) Initiative launched by the AfDB in 2004 as well as through its financial crisis response initiative and the ILO Global Jobs Pact in Africa.

This high-level meeting will offer a platform to African ministries, representatives of employers and workers, as well as women entrepreneurs, various players of the financial sector and development partners involved in Women’s Entrepreneurship Development to discuss ways and means to effectively support sustainable women-owned enterprises in Africa in the context of the current global recession and beyond.

This forum will give the opportunity to :

• discuss the impact of the financial crisis and its implications for donors, institutions, countries and women entrepreneurs
• come up with concrete recommendations on how to provide more effective and coordinated support as a response to the crisis for women's entrepreneurship development and businesswomen growth in Africa
• provide high visibility to African women entrepreneurs to increase awareness on the work that remains to be done on the gender equality issue
• reinforce the partnership between the AfDB and ILO
• generate knowledge about investing opportunities in Regional member countries (RMCs)
• highlight partnerships focussing on Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme as a way out of the current financial and economic crisis

For media coverage, interviews and photos ops:

AfDB: Onike Nicol, o.nicol@afdb.org - tel : +216 71 10 32 27

AfDB: Penelope Pontet, p.pontetdefouquieres@afdb.org - tel +216 24 6636 96

ILO : Guebray Berhane, guebray@ilo.org - tel: + 251 11 5 44 44 15

ILO : Walid Ibrahim, ibrahim@ilo.org