Kampala (ILO News): The International Labour Organisation (ILO) organized a sub-regional knowledge sharing event to share best practices and experiences that helped to promote women entrepreneurship development in East Africa.
Mr. Jealous Chirove, Chief Technical Advisor of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Women’s Economic Empowerment the (WEDEE) programme, highlighted the value of engaging women as productive workers in the effort to promote gender equality.
High on the agenda was the intervention of three women entrepreneurs who benefitted from the WEDEE project and who shared their experiences with participants:
Joyce Kyalema (Uganda) shared her story of how she managed to start her business in pumpkin farming and side products, and how she involved her community so that they could also benefit from the business;
Beata Makula (Tanzania) highlighted the challenges she faced and how she overcame adversity to become a prominent entrepreneur in her community while carrying out her dream of building a primary school for the most vulnerable kids in her community.
Christine Ngigi (Kenya), being a woman living with HIV, told how that didn’t stop her and her team, from becoming local suppliers of fruits and vegetables to main hotels around Amboseli park, in Kenya.
The Ambassador of Ireland to Uganda, H.E. Dónal Cronin expressed his wish to continue nurturing the 15 years ILO-Ireland relations and praised the work done through the project. He further encouraged the participants to continue with their combined interventions which are crucial to ensure greater impact.
Ms Evelyn Anite, State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs for Uganda, commended the work of WEDEE programme in its contribution to increasing the performance of women-led businesses and promoting entrepreneurship as a serious career for women.
The Women’s Entrepreneurship Development (ILO-WED) programme, through the economic empowerment of women, aims to contribute to greater gender equality, as well as to more job creation and economic development.
