Third African Women’s Economic Summit

LUSAKA/ADDIS ABABA (ILO News) – Aeneas Chapinga Chuma, Head of the ILO in Africa, is moderating a plenary session on 26 July with a focus on “lessons learned in accelerating women’s financial inclusion”.

The 3rd African Women’s Economic Summit is held at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia, from the 24th to the 26th of July 2014.

Jointly organised by New Faces New Voices (NFNV) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Summit and the session are to stimulate discussion among the speakers who will be comprised of senior government officials and central bankers from different African countries.

The objectives of the summit are four-fold: To have economic policies that are informed by credible data on women in finance and the economy; to massively increase women’s access to appropriate and affordable finance and financial services; to build robust and diverse financial systems that are inclusive of women; and to improve the sustainability of women-owned businesses in different sectors and to help them grow from micro to small, small to medium, and medium to large.

Participants at the summit include delegates from regulatory bodies, financial services providers, development agencies, academic institutions, think-tanks, business and professional organisations, advocacy groups, as well as prominent business men and women and government leaders.