Presentation:

Facilitators:

Rose Ronoh; Senior Gender and Trade Expert- United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(UNECA)

Caroline Keitany; -Private Sector Engagement Expert

Rose and Caroline who were both part of UNECA introduced themselves and began sharing about the AfCFTA. The AfCFTA was described as a trade agreement that would offer trade advantages to member states. It was expected to reduce some tariffs and eliminate others so that trade was more affordable. Access was also higher, and development was accelerated through industrialization. The agreement will also develop regional value chains and create a coherent trade policy. Participants benefit from improved trade in goods and services through the improvement of the priority sectors of transportation, tourism, financial services, and communication business services. African heads of state also dedicated a protocol to women to counter the cultural injustices women face. The agreement was keen on involving both women and men in boosting entrepreneurship moving forward. Rose also mentioned the desire for informal businesses among people with low levels of education to be included. The benefits were to be felt across the board. The agreement also seeks to make entrepreneurship more attractive through formal structures and guidelines. UNECA has supported over 40 member states to draft their implementation strategies and the next step is to create awareness. Rose concluded the presentation with a list of challenges. They include a lack of knowledge of technology and opportunities, travel barriers through visa complications, and high costs of travel among others.

Rose addressed several questions raised by the delegates. On continental trade, she explained that the eight countries currently trading are in a pilot study to better understand the challenges in the implementation of the AfCFTA. Traders were encouraged to do market research on the regions they were interested in. This would be more profitable than waiting for the pilot studies to chart the way forward in all 52 countries in Africa. She spoke of the long-term plan to interconnect the transportation systems to allow better logistics in transporting goods. The application of a digital tool for cost analysis was also advised.

Rose Ronoh

She encouraged the movement of services first and also trading first within one regional economic community. Another question on exporting goods was answered by encouraging traders to first procure an export license. She then advised the delegate to go to the info trade portal to determine which other specific licenses were needed for specific products. She mentioned that traders could engage institutions to protect their brands through patenting, trademarking, anti-counterfeit authorities, and copyrights. SME brands could also seek protection within the Intellectual Property Protocol that is currently under negotiation. Rose then asked the delegates to give their recommendations to UNECA

Joy Zenz, one of the delegates, encouraged facilitation for women to understand The Women and Youth Protocol and the general concept of global trade. Rose advised traders to work on quality assurance and branding. She then encouraged support from aggregators and called for organizations to play this role. Another delegate spoke of the high cost of logistics which Rose reiterated was a work in progress. Rose also answered a question on the inclusion of all women including rural-based women and women living with disabilities. She explained that these people were covered under the 30% reserved for women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Efforts were also being made on the national and continental levels. Rose also promised to forward all these recommendations to UNECA. On access to finance, Rose advised traders to start small and develop a cash flow system and financial history. Formal business registration and developing a trackable financial history would make it possible to access financing for bigger projects.

“UNECA is a policy adviser institution. We note this and that is why we participate in these engagements. Not only do we bring it to the governments, but we also research to find out where the problem stems from,”

Rose Ronoh.

Rose then called for the developing partners to handhold entrepreneurs through the next stage of awareness and capacity building beyond training. The lack of disaggregated data was also seen as a barrier to policymaking as the challenges of men and women could not be captured accurately. A communications and visibility plan was also structured for women and the platforms they patronize, to decrease the knowledge gap. An upcoming workshop targeting women and MSMEs was set to enlighten more women on operations. Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, Rwanda, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mauritius, and Tanzania are the pilot countries that are involved in the trial run of the implementation of the AfCFTA. The countries volunteered to be a part of the pilot study also known as a Guided Trade Initiative. Products including ceramic tiles, dry foods, and batteries among others were part of the products being traded. On gender-sensitive budgeting, Rose called for a deeper inclusion of women's issues.

Caroline wound up the discussion by summarizing the scope of feedback they would be able to give back. The compilation included recurring issues of logistics, facilitation aggregation, engagement with SMEs of different challenges and living standards, how we monitor and track progress, access to finance and the self-denying aspect, capacity building, and preparation by formalizing businesses and researching markets. Caroline also encouraged the domination of regional communities before venturing into continental markets. Communication plans at the national level were encouraged to be gender sensitive. She concluded by calling for the commitment of the member states to gender-sensitive budgeting. Anne then closed the session by ushering in some Women-owned African brands.

Watch this exciting video at Regal Africa TV https://youtu.be/CYxyJfQ5VUg

Ankole Luxury is a jewelry and home decor accessory brand that was founded by Veronica Gakio. The Ankole horn from Uganda is her primary raw material that goes through an extensive production process to make earrings, bangles, candle holders, coasters, and others. They are put together with waste brass and recycled padlocks. Ankole luxury also works with women groups from Tharaka Nithi who make bags. The bags are embellished with leather and other accessories to increase their value. Other engagements include training of an autistic groups to make and sell rosaries. Veronica is passionate about horn jewelry because of the unique creamy, white caramel colors they produce. Each piece is unique based on the source horn. Ankole works within communities to uplift those that it can reach. The products sell on Facebook, LinkedIn and on their website. Veronica finished by encouraging all female entrepreneurs not to limit themselves in business.

“It’s quite unique and is not something that everyone is wearing. I’ve always loved unique jewelry so before I started making jewelry I always preferred second hand jewelry because I knew I would not find it with anyone else,”

Veronica Gakio

Panel Session 9: How economic empowerment of women will transform African Nations Development

Moderator: Yavi Madurai; Executive Director -The Pan African Business Women’s Association

Panelists:

Gloria Atuheirwe; Director Gender, Inclusion and Women in Trade- TradeMark

East Africa

Madelein Mkunu; Founder and President- Leading Women of Africa Group

Modesta Nsowaa-Adu; International Trade Policy Consultant- CUTS International Pauline Okubasu; President- Organisation of Women in International Trade

Panel Discussion :

Anne Gaitha began the panel discussion by quoting the World Development Bank’s research findings that the need for gender equality on a development level is critical post COVID. Yavi then picked up from the pace that Anne had set by getting more acquainted with the panelists. Modesta introduced her NGO as a resource center for international trade and governance. She is passionate about partnering with other organizations to create awareness on the AfCFTA and the benefits women can get from this partnership. Madelein’s group runs women empowerment programs while creating awareness on the steps necessary to build success in the continent. Her focus was to empower women at all levels so that decision making could be leveraged to suit women.

Gloria’s professional role was to address the barriers that women experience in trade and to boost inclusion of women. She works with SMEs as well as people living with disabilities.

Anne raised the issue of women trade experts in the context of gender relevance. Madelein explained that these experts could be anybody with extensive experience on trade. This was independent of educational background or gender. Pauline joined the conversation by supporting Madelein’s point of view. She encouraged women to be part of different organizations and build networks because one cannot get all the information they need from one person. Pauline was passionate about leaving no women behind by OWIT’s training on capacity building, mentorship,access to finance and market access.

Modesta disagreed with the opinion that expertise had to be viewed as education paired with experience. She was of the opinion that an expert can be someone who has sufficiently researched a certain area and collected enough data on it. People who design programs on international trade can also be considered experts.

Modesta added that we do not have enough women trade experts from the continental, regional and national levels. She mentioned several women leaders whose influence was benefitting women although they were in these positions for the first time in years. Gloria then spoke of research on the care economy and cross-border trade. She began with the high number of hours that women had to split between care work getting three hours and the rest on trading. The research showed that the dynamics of womanhood limited the trading time to almost 30%. The statistics also showed that the women who were able to venture out and seek better trade opportunities were subjected to increased gender based violence in the home especially from spouses.

Her organization engages men and sensitizes them on the benefits of trade for women. They also seek to digitize trade and to lessen the need to do business from outside the home environment. The strengthening of models that facilitate delivery services and online marketing and selling.

The panel discussion came to end with their thoughts on the things they would do if they had the power held by the minister of trade. Pauline said that she would ensure that there are more women in positions. She would also enmesh sensitization training to ensure better treatment of women within society. She also spoke of streamlining the current trade barriers within some timelines. Gloria said that the informal economy was the place to start. Her focus was on graduating the women who are stuck somewhere between the bottom and the top. The data issue would also need to be addressed so that the informal market was understood better. Modesta closed the session by stating that she would develop a women empowerment framework particularly women with disabilities. She called for strategic production and strategic consumption to shape that revolution into policy. Yavi closed by calling on more collaboration and no competition so as to drive an agenda for wealth.

Watch the final panel here https://youtu.be/lr2KpLTQ_r8

Vote of Thanks

Diana Gaitha- EliteGlobal Branding

Diana Gaitha Creative Director EliteGlobal Branding Speaker ( U.S.A)

Diana thanked the speakers and the moderators for the knowledge they imparted to the delegates. She highlighted the keynote speakers Bogolo and Pamela who set the pace for each day’s deliberations. Diana then recapped Bogolo’s speech on sustainable trade, development, and climate finance. She encouraged the continent to put this issue into perspective as it was affecting development. Pamela Mar’s contribution to digitizing our policies and trade data was also acknowledged. MR. Hermogenes’s contribution to the mindset of trade and development was noted as he encouraged growth and expansion globally and within the continent. Diana lauded the benefit of technology as it was one of the ways to innovate and change the narrative of the African experience.

Diana quoted an economist Dambisa Moyo who elevated the role of trade far above the role of aid. Her sentiments were echoed by Sara Baka. Women in trade were also lauded for their contribution to the trade space. Diana encouraged women to take up opportunities and also transition to manufacturing. She encouraged export within Inter African space and the globe.

Diana emphasized trade being the avenue for the creation of generational wealth. Diana concluded by thanking the organizers of the conference, Regal Africa under the leadership of the convener Anne Wambui Gaitha. Lastly, she acknowledged the contribution of the Elite Branding team and Eva’s Events as well as all the delegates for their attendance.

Watch the vote of thanks here https://youtu.be/6w8GFPW9tKE

Sponsors

Regal Africa Business Institute (RABI) is an institution based in Nairobi, Kenya with a focus on promoting business excellence on the Africa continent with the understanding that business is the only sustainable way to eradicate poverty on the continent.

RABI is an institution that offers research, training, consulting services, and events & publications to Businesses, Individuals, Institutions, and Governments with a focus on the African continent.

RABI has three core centers of excellence with a focus on capacity building for African businesses through the Centre for International Trade, Centre for Investment & Development, and Centre for Diaspora Engagement

The Regal Africa “Centre for International Trade” is focused on promoting more intra Africa trade and Global Trade. We area think Tank providing thought leadership on the best ways to improve trade in Africa. We work with Institutions and Goverments to promote International trade.

We provide capacity building services to businesses that participate in international trade through our Trainings, Accelerator programs, Events and publications.

EliteGlobal Branding is a branding firm that loves to create unique brand experiences for it’s clients. Our clients include Businesses, Institutions and Personal brands. We specialize in coming up with creative solutions through Branding, Design, Art and Marketing.

Eva’s Events is a full service premium event planning company with in-house services to take care of all your event needs. We specialize in Corporate events, Weddings, Garden parties, Birthdays, Graduations as well as Traditional events.