Making Trade Work for Women in Africa

The project aims to improve the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs working in the areas of apparel textile fashion accessories and home décor in Lesotho Uganda Madagascar and Ethiopia. The project works to provide training and technical assistance so women-led enterprises can increase their exports to Canada and other foreign markets. The project also aims to assist local trade support institutions (TSIs) to provide gender responsive market access services and ensure women-owned enterprises are accessing those services and implementing export plans for Canadian and other foreign markets. Project activities include: (1) providing training and technical assistance on market access services to women-led enterprises; (2) providing training and technical assistance to local TSIs on sustainable business plans which include new revenue generating services and funding opportunities from local and international funders; and (3) providing training and technical assistance to women-led enterprises to increase their access to the financial and human resources necessary to implement their export plans. The project aims to directly benefit 240 women-owned/led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that work to access gender responsive market services to access Canadian and other foreign markets and 60 local TSI staff to receive training and technical assistance on self-sustaining governance structures that promote women leadership and gender responsive market access services to women led/owned SMEs in the targeted countries.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) supported local Trade Support Institutions (TSIs) provide gender-responsive market access services to women-led or owned SMEs in target countries; and (2) supported women-owned or led Small and Medium Enterprises implement export plans for Canadian and other foreign markets.