SheTrades in the Commonwealth has set out to support thousands of women-owned business in Commonwealth countries, with Kenya among those set to enjoy greater focus.
SheTrades in the Commonwealth was launched by the International Trade Centre (ITC). It’s goal is to increase the participation of women entrepreneurs in the economy over the next two years. The project is to last from April 2018 to March 2020.
Kenya is one of the four Commonwealth countries that will enjoy a special focus. The others are Nigeria, Ghana and Bangladesh. The SheTrades in Commonwealth project will also be an effort to make strides on three Sustainable Development Goals – No Poverty, Gender and Equality plus Decent Work and Economic Growth.
How will this initiative support women-owned businesses? The specific aims are to improve the competitiveness of such businesses and connect them to markets. This will be possible through training, coaching, mentorship and partnering with enablers.
Focus in Kenya will be on sectors with high export potential. Agriculture, Services (ICT) and Textiles and Apparel have been singled out. SheTrades in the Commonwealth believe in the need to build Kenyan women’s participation in tea, coffee and horticulture (beans, avocado, peas) businesses. Sub-sectors of ICT such as business process outsourcing (BPO) were also identified.
How can you join? If you want to express interest then visit the Official Webpage to register. SheTrades overall aim is to empower 1 million women entrepreneurs by 2020.
