As we approach the Pan-African Women’s Day celebrations on July 31, it is a great time to reflect on the immense contributions women have made over time to families, economies, and communities.
Pan-African Women’s Day originated from the struggles and aspirations of Women in Africa for liberation, social justice, and equality. It was established officially on July 31, 1962, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during the second Conference of African Women.
This day not only honours the remarkable achievements of women in Africa but also points out the pressing need to ensure gender equality and women empowerment are prioritised so that women can participate fully in Africa’s development agenda and growth.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opened great possibilities for women-owned businesses and trade across the continent with organisations like WEConnect International taking the lead in driving positive change and inclusivity in global supply chains.
The AfCFTA trade agreement is undoubtedly a historic milestone for Africa with its immense potential to provide a single large market of 1.3 billion people and a Gross Domestic Product of more than $3.4 Trillion (over Sh484 trillion).
The women’s protocol within the AfCFTA framework recognises the crucial role women play in driving Africa’s economic growth. It seeks to create an enabling environment that tackles gender disparities, removes barriers for women, and unlocks opportunities for women in trade.
The protocol further promotes gender-inclusive policies, addresses gender-based violence and gender-disaggregated data, and monitors mechanisms to assess the impact of trade policies on women's economic empowerment.
It also highlights an extensive roadmap for integrating a gender lens into the framework to ensure women benefit equitably from the trade agreement.
Its implementation will pave the way for greater participation, increased opportunities, and improved outcomes for women in trade, ultimately contributing to Africa's overall economic prosperity.
Against the backdrop of the women protocol's ultimate goal, context-specific and targeted initiatives that address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the continent will be a game changer in fast-tracking this achievement.
Organisations that run initiatives creating a supportive ecosystem like WEConnect International and many others enable women-owned businesses to access markets, valuable networking opportunities, capital, and capacity building. By providing the necessary tools, knowledge, and resources, these organisations empower women entrepreneurs to thrive and make a significant contribution to their country's economies.
Governments in Africa have driven inclusivity through various efforts that support women’s economic participation even though the extent of this support differs from country to country. An example is government-supported business support programmes that provide technical and financial assistance to women entrepreneurs like the Rwanda Women’s Enterprise Fund, and Kenya’s Women Enterprise Fund which was revived recently.
Other governments run women empowerment agencies that achieve this through mainstreaming, advocacy, monitoring, and evaluation like South Africa’s Women Economic Assembly which actions and enables procurement environment, and Kenya’s National Gender and Equality Commission whose role is to mainstream gender in national policies and programmes.
On the other hand, the Ethiopian government has supported women’s cooperatives in key sectors such as agriculture, textiles, and handicrafts. In Nigeria, the government set up a Women’s Entrepreneurship and Financial Initiative centre to support women-owned businesses.
While all those examples show progress has been made, there is an opportunity to do more to fully realise these initiatives with continued commitment and adequate resource allocation to ensure sustained support for women’s economic participation across Africa.
On this Pan-African Women’s Day, I would like to share some key takeaways from the just concluded Women Deliver Conference 2023 in Kigali which reiterated the call for our commitment to collectively work to create an enabling environment especially the key stakeholders and governments to truly empower women across the continent.
One of them is the need for a more holistic approach to women's economic empowerment. This means addressing not only the economic barriers that women face but also the social and cultural barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the economy.
Another key takeaway was the importance of partnerships in achieving women's economic empowerment. Governments, businesses, civil society organisations, and individuals all have a role to play in creating an enabling environment for women to succeed economically.
The conference highlighted the importance of the Maputo protocol’s Article 13 in ensuring that women have the same opportunities as men to participate in the economy.
Speakers discussed how the article can be used to challenge discriminatory laws and practices that prevent women from working. They also discussed how the article can be used to promote policies that support women's economic empowerment such as access to education and training, microfinance, and childcare.
The work is cut out for us as key stakeholders to ensure we unleash the potential of African women business owners and intentional initiatives stand as a powerful catalyst for true transformation that will lead to a brighter and more equitable future for Africa.
