The Reporter (Addis Ababa)
8 December 2007
interview
After a 23-year-service in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Nigest Haile three years ago launched an indigenous NGO she thought would empower businesswomen in Ethiopia better than a department at the ministry she was heading - Women Affairs Department - could do. She spoke to The Reporter on these and related matters. Excerpts:
What inspired you to quit the job you have at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and launch an NGO?
When I was working at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, I observed a gap that there was no institution or specific governmental machinery or an NGO that can really take care of the interests of women exporters. This prompted me to resign from my job at the Ministry and establish a center that would focus on building the capacity of women exporters although they are very few in number. The center, called Center for African Women Economic Empowerment (CAWEE), is currently based in Addis Ababa with a vision to establish different chapters in other African countries. So as the name of our organization indicates, we have a vision to work in Africa with a special focus on Ethiopia.
Since when was CAWEE operational? And how soon will you extend your activities to other African countries?
We have been operational in Addis Ababa for the last three years. We are currently in the process of opening chapters in Uganda and Tanzania. We will accordingly expand our reach to other African countries before too long.
Are you all by yourselves or are there some entities supporting your operation?
We launched the operation in June 2004 when we were about six months young. We started to get support from the Canada Fund for Africa, which had been supporting a program called Access! in eleven African countries including Ethiopia. Fortunately, our organization was appointed as a focal point to coordinate this program in Ethiopia owing to my experience and the network I established while working at the Ministry of Trade and Industry as the Head of Women's Affairs Department. The pilot phase of this program was finalized in December 2006. Now we are in the process of transiting to what could be termed a second phase, which is projected to become a five-year program.
What did the pilot phase program of ACCESS! involve? What is the ACCESS! program all about?
The pilot phase had three main components: providing training in international trade where we trained about 71 companies (of which 18 percent belongs to men), monitoring where we had been following our trainees, and providing basic trade information, including web-based trade information. This had been an exercise where many of our women have been able to open e-mails, which most of them did not have before. Some two or three had even opened their own website. ACCESS! aims at strengthening the capacity of women entrepreneurs to engage themselves in international trade. Mainly targeting African women entrepreneurs who have already attained a fair level of management competence, ACCESS! works to support those women who are emerging exporters or have the potential to become one. CAWEE was identified as the ACCESS! focal point in Ethiopia.
So this pilot program was a successful transition that we saw many of the companies involved in the program to push progress forward.
What are the major service areas CAWEE is involved in?
Our major service areas include capacity building of women entrepreneurs through training in entrepreneurship development, leadership and management skills, negotiation skills etc, capacity building of women entrepreneurs' associations that enable them to provide business development services to their members through training, awareness creation by publicizing and documenting case studies of women entrepreneurs role models and success stories. We also offer counseling and advisory services, providing package services to young girls who work in groups, clusters or cooperatives, facilitating export market for women products, facilitating the organization of regional trade fairs, training and workshops, developing a website and data base on information and issues related to women's entrepreneurship development and gender equality and undertake action-oriented research among others.
You have been three years in operation now. Do you have success stories to tell that stem from CAWEE's services, especially in Ethiopia?
CAWEE has helped build the capacity of existing and emerging women exporters in various service areas it offers supported by the ACCESS program. Some of the companies owned and managed by women which received such services and got a chance to participate in international trades held oversees through the facilitation of CAWEE have registered successful results. The products of some of these companies have currently entered Canada, the US, Europe and some African countries. And, as I said earlier, most of these companies are now actively employing the internet in their activities and trade transactions.
Now that the ACCESS! program is finalized, where will CAWEE be heading to?
With the pilot phase project of ACCESS! completed, we have got an opportunity of getting support from the Pro Invest EU fund, in which three countries - Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania - will be involved. The program is tailored to continue on the earlier technical assistance program - ACCESS! for African business women in international trade, which has been implemented by the countries. This program will be implemented by CAWEE. The program involves the organization of training workshops, business counseling services, management by ACCESS! web portal and launch of business awards.
How many women exporters are getting CAWEE's training and other relevant services?
It is difficult to get a number. We have tried to reach 71 exporters up to now, plus 30 which we already have. But even from that category about 20 percent are men whom we can not discard since they showed interest to participate in the program. But it is a good number for us to start with because this is a country where even the export sector is not developed.
And this had been a great opportunity for all of them because it is only our NGO that is providing this kind of particular service to women exporters in the country.
Is there anything different CAWEE has in store for the future?
We have been providing services for women entrepreneurs who export products and those who emerge to do so. Now we are planning to include also those women exporters who export services. There are lots of women who are providing services. So with this particular program we lunched - the Pro invest Europe fund program - we are closely working with the international trade center in Geneva, specifically with the trade and services section. We have very close contacts with them, and with the recognition we maintained over the last few years, we could foster a better program for both women in the pipeline and those already engaged in exporting services. It is import to consider the service sector as it accounts for about 45 percent of the country's GDP.
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