African Union Commission coaches SME Women on Trade Fair and Agro Value Chain

The African Union Commission (AUC) Department of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the Directorate of Women, Gender and Development organized from 9-12 December 2015, a joint Training Workshop on Trade fair and Agro Value Chain for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Women in Nairobi. The theme of the Training Workshop was: “Fostering the adoption and utilization of improved Agro-Processing Technologies for Women-led or owned SMEs: Policy Perspectives and Managerial Prerequisites”.

One of the raison-d'être of the African Union Commission is to promote gender empowerment, which is one of the key factors for accelerating poverty reduction and for promoting economic growth in Africa. The objective of the coaching was to improve both the profitability and the competitiveness of the targeted SME Women through the upgrading of agro-processing technologies. It was also to enhance the awareness of SME Women on the latest trends emerging from the change of the food market which imply an adaptation of agro-industry development strategies.

The Training was facilitated by Mrs. Mounira HACHMI, Trainer Engineer from Agence Tunisienne de la Formation Professionnelle and delivered in different formats in order to connect and communicate with the participants in free and relaxing manners.

The four-day Training program equipped SME Women with the relevant skills, appropriate content knowledge and key information tools needed to succeed in their businesses. Furthermore, it gave the opportunity to connect participants in open floor where they can network, collaborate and exchange ideas and experiences with relevant SME Women in Agro business sector in Africa.

The Training was attended by 20 women entrepreneurs from more than 15 countries all over Africa at Nairobi Hilton Hotel, where they also shared ideas on how to run a socially responsible business at its core.

All the Participants were rewarded certificates of participation for the successful completion of the Training at the end the session.