The Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM) International Conference was launched this morning by the Prime Minister, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at the Sofitel Mauritius L'Imperial Resort & Spa, in Flic-en Flac.
Other dignitaries including the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr. Soomilduth Bholah and the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, were present on the occasion.
In his address, the Prime Minister thanked the women entrepreneurs community for their active contribution to the economy. He lauded their courage, perseverance and sacrifices made to achieve success and hailed them as the change that all societies need.
Furthermore, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth lauded the initiative in uniting women business owners from the world and choosing to hold it in Mauritius for the third time. He stated that women entrepreneurs gathered during the event will be discussing women's involvement in circular economy, climate change, digital market places, regional and global networking, that are currently the world's most pressing challenges.
We are living in a fast-evolving digital era where we need to be connected to global community, and this international event will further develop regional and global networking, he underscored.
On that note, the Prime Minister recalled that the economic empowerment of women is at the heart of various policies that have been adopted in Mauritius and pointed out that the Government program 2020-24 pave the way for a society where gender equality, fairness and equity are adhered to for the humane and social development of women.
We are now looking forward to seeing women to go beyond what society expects of them, and to actively participate in the economic and social development of the country and to be agents of change in the society, added Mr. Jugnauth.
He reassured that the country is fully engaged in following its commitment towards SDG 5 which aims to achieve gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful practices against girls and women.
Additionally, Prime Minister Jugnauth evoked the disparity between men and women in CEO position, as well as in women-owned and managed enterprises, and called for the need to increase the presence of women, while indicating that progress towards work-place gender equality in the public sector is remarkable in Mauritius, with in 2020 the proportion of women in the most senior positions, standing at 39.7%.
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As regards the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he asserted that the Government came up with a series of support measures to help sectors affected by them, and renewed his pledge to provide additional support to those facing challenges due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
He informed that the country is party to various trade negotiations and is signatory to major multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, which will sustain the growth of the business community. We are also leveraging economic diplomacy to reach new markets, create new opportunities for the business community, he emphasised.
Moreover, Prime Minister Jugnauth made an appeal to all businesses and women business leaders to make sustainability must in their businesses.
On that occasion a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Association Mauricienne Des Femmes Chefs D'Entreprises with the COMESA Federation of Women in Business.
The Conference spanning from the 25 to 27 May 2022, will focus on the theme, 'The Circular Economy - Women Entrepreneurs as the Driving Force of Change'.
