MENA – OECD WORKSHOP

How Could Business Associations Act

As a driving force to Economic REFORM

25 June 2007

Manama - Bahrain

Presented by

Dr. Amany Asfour

President

Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA)

Business and Professional Women –Egypt (BPW-Egypt)

African Alliance for Women Empowerment

Human Resources , Science & Technology Cluster ECOSOCC – A.U.

Africa Coordinator for international Federation for Business & Professional Women ( BPWI )

Member Nepad Gender Task force Responsible for Trade & Market Access.

Chairperson COMESA Business women Associations

Why Economic Reform?

The Key To Economic Growth

How to Achieve

Economic Reform ?

Economic Reform Through

Economic Empowerment of private

sector

Product development

Partners of Development

1. Governments.

2. Civil Society Organizations.

3. Private Sector.

Governments

Set Legislation.

Infrastructure

Civil Society Organizations

NGOs contribute to the empowerment of women and

development of human resource through:

Training.

Capacity Building.

Technical Assistance and Support Services.

Advocacy.

Project Development.

Networking.

Role of Civil Society Organizations in the

Economic Empowerment of Women, Young

Women Entrepreneurship Promotion and Main

Streaming of Gender in the Global Market

achieving Executive Trading

5. Young Women

Entrepreneurship promotion

&

Building of an

Entrepreneurial Culture

Entrepreneurship

Is a driver for economic growth,

competitiveness and job creation,

furthermore, it can be a vehicle for

personal development and can

help resolve social issues.

Who is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is essentially a person who is not only self-employed but generates employment and income for others through a combination of efforts requiring zeal and capability to transform physical, financial, natural and human resources for production possibilities to extract the business potential within any situation..

Situation of Women

Entrepreneurship

In spite of the fact that mainstreaming women has been recognized as a priority, the area of entrepreneurship development still contains ambiguity and get less attention and women’s micro credit based income generating activities often are confused as entrepreneurship development. The enterprises owned by women feature some interesting characteristics regarding ownership, management, sources of capital, technology market orientation and so on.

The Promotion of Women’s

Entrepreneurship

It is a means to alleviate women’s unemployment and poverty and also stimulate economic growth.

Women’s entrepreneurship promotion aims at eliminating gender specific barriers which limits women’s capacity to do up businesses. These include inadequate access to information ,business networks as well as the traditional attitude towards the gender role

The main three pillars of

women’s Entrepreneurship

promotion are:

1 – Creating an enabling environment

2 – Capacity building and

3 - Access to financial resources

Developing capabilities and skills

The first priority should be to provide

opportunities for more women to

develop and use their entrepreneurial

drive in successfully initiating

businesses.

A sustainable EnterpriseThe following figure shows the elements that are

required to call it enterprise sustainable

Management

Zeal

Skill

Managerial

Vocational

Systems

Sustainable

Enterprise

Technical

Viability

Market

Stability

Management

Zeal

Skill

Managerial

Vocational

Systems

Infrastructural

facilities

Policy

supportEnvironmental

Sustainability

Financial

viability

The way forward

Creation of Enabling

Environment

Policy Support

Revision/formulation

(establish consistency)

Supportive mechanism

(One stop service)

Mainstreaming

Advocacy

Chambers/Association

Measures by

Government.

Banks

Promotion

of Women

Entrepreneurship

Access to Financial

Resources

Special credit line

Guarantee support

Guarantee fund

Advocacy & Risk Sharing

Chambers/Associations

Fund Generation

Govt., Donor, Private Bank

Sources

External agencies

Government

Capacity Building

Associations -Women Entrepreneurs

Service Providers

-Information-Skills Development

Management Technology

Marketing Support-Linkage Building

Donors/Agencies

Technical Assistance

Support Services

Chambers/Associations-Institutions-

Agencies-Private sector

Triad Of Trade ( 3 Ps)

Personality

ProcedureProduct

Challenges of Trade

8 (Ps)

1- Product

Quality of the product

Branding of the Product.

2 – Presentation

Packaging

3 - Pricing

How to have survey studies & to have a

competitive price .

4- Popularity

How to make your product popular

through

- Marketing

- Advertising

5 – Payment

Financial Services

Legal Services

Method of Payment

6 - Post

How to post the product & deliver it to the Client

- Transport either by

- Air

- Sea

- Road

- Infrastructure & Transport System .

7 – Patience

8 – Power

Power to achieve

Power to lead

Power to Market

What is Power ?

The right definition of Power

Power is potency -

the capacity to act, to implement.

'Power' that must constantly be

struggled over and backed up with

force, including violence, is not power.

Empowerment of Women

is now speaking of "EMPOWERMENT" OF WOMEN, of discovering one’s own strength, of teaching women how to exert their influence, i.e. of decentralization of power to women, "empowerment of women", so that they could use it in a different way than men and towards different goals.

“Political changes without fundamental changes in moral and social norms remain temporary victories"

Training is a Crucial for the Capacity

Building of Women Entrepreneurs

One example for the obstacles that faces womenEntrepreneurs is :-

Marketing :-

1 - How to market the product.

2 - Pricing the product.

3 - How to gather information about your client .

Our organization Egyptian Business Women Associationorganized a Training course offered. by IFC using

Business Edge Tool . about marketing & pricing of theproduct . More than 30 women has benefited from thistraining in different sectors. An accompanyingexhibition for the women’s products was heldsuccessfully together with a fashion show that includedwomen’s products in the field of textile & Garments.

Project Development Effective partnerships with NGOs to include a

range of project development, implementation and delivery systems can contribute to the effectiveness and range of marketing the products of micro-entrepreneurs.

Many innovative activities and models for marketing are being developed by NGOs which contribute to improved consultation, human resource development, and incorporating gender equality considerations.

Programs will have to be designed and put in place that ensures women's access to the technologies that can empower them in many aspects of their lives.

Project for Economic Women

Empowerment in Africa

Partners

UNDP

African Alliance for Women Empowerment .

African Development Bank.

Egyptian Business Women Association as Focal Point in Egypt .

Establishment of

Business Development

Center

Main Objective is to face

Challenges & Obstacles

Facing Business Women

BDC will include

Training facilities.

Market place & show rooms.

Business incubators.

ICT centers.

Technical assistance.

Financial & legal services.

Innovation center.

Transfer of technology for women in business

Facing the Challenges is very

Important Among which are :

1-Setting up a Business.

2- Development of Product.

3- Quality control of the product.

4- Branding

5- Packaging .

6- Pricing.

7- Marketing & Promotion of Export.

Locally

Regionally

Internationally

Marketing is a very

Crucial Issue

- ICT is a must for marketing of the products

- Exhibitions, Fairs in different parts of the world.

Role of Private Sector

Should mobilize its resources to

share in capacity building and

women empowerment.

Share the social responsibility

of the capital in funding

training programs and women

Entrepreneurship promotion.

Why

Economic Empowerment

of Women

To Achieve financial

independence.

WHY?

To have the power of choice and

voice.

Egyptian Business

Women Association

(EBWA)

African Alliance for

Women Empowerment

Our Goal

Economic Empowerment of Women

Our Slogan

Financial independence gives you the

power of choice and voice

Our Message

Young Women Entrepreneurship

Promotion

Our Future

Economic Women

Empowerment for a better

world.