Secretary of State Hilary Clinton admits she is surprised when she speaks with male economists and government leaders who doubt the ability of women to contribute to economic growth. She tells them to look out the their office windows and see the potential in women at work - women like Sylvia Banda, Zambia's ambassador to the African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP).
Banda, who started her own successful catering company, was among 40 African women entrepreneurs who recently attended a luncheon at the U.S. State Department, capping off the second African Women's Entrepreneurial Program International Visitor Leadership Forum. AWEP is a people-to-people exchange that connects women and enhances their ability to be key economic drivers in communities and countries worldwide.
During the month long leadership forum, the African businesswomen, representing 36 nations, traveled around the United States, networking and gaining knowledge from AWEP's private and public sector partners. At the luncheon, Banda and Clinton addressed the women and a collection of the program partners. Both speakers encouraged the women to keep up their efforts.
"African women have got potential to feed the whole world," Banda said. "So make use of the power that you have been given."
Although AWEP was launched only three years ago, Clinton proudly noted some encouraging results: one AWEP member from Tanzania established her own network of businesswomen, and successfully negotiated with Macy's to sell her fabrics in the well-known department store. Another AWEP member from Liberia raised funds to start a business incubator that is helping more than 300 women start their own businesses.
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One of AWEP's primary goals is to grow the number of chapters in the AWEP network. So far, chapters have been set up in Zambia and Namibia, while six additional AWEP chapters are set to launch before the end of this year in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa and Uganda.
Banda called for more equitable resource allocation between men and women, saying that a key component to AWEP's expansion is providing its members with the necessary tools and supplies to export to the United States.
Clinton thanked the women for attending the forum and encouraged them to "keep making the contacts and building the networks and making the changes that will really revolutionize what women are doing around the world."
She also recognized that although determined and committed, many of the women in the room still face obstacles.
"Do not despair," she said. "You have many friends and supporters here in the United States because we understand something that the rest of the world is only beginning to understand and that is that women hold the key to economic growth in Africa, just as they hold the key to economic growth around the world."
Clinton said that through the work of Banda and the network she represents, many African leaders were suddenly talking about ways women could contribute to the economy. Clinton applauded the Zambian government for creating a business incubator for women entrepreneurs, and said she would continue to encourage African leaders to empower African women to help unleash their potential and influence economic growth. "Africa will grow more sustainably if women are full partners in that growth," she said.
