UAE launches womens empowerment training programme in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA- The UAE Embassy in Ethiopia launched a women’s empowerment training programme to benefit 300 local women in Addis Ababa, in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the Ethiopian Government and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP.

The programme, which began on Thursday and will conclude tomorrow, aims to empower underprivileged women to start small or micro businesses. The programme was attended by Masfan Asfa, Minister of State for Urban Development and Reconstruction of Ethiopia, and Ahmed Badawi, Head of the Political, Economic and Media Affairs Department at the UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa and Head of the Representative Office of the UNDP in Ethiopia, along with officials from the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth of Ethiopia, and several invitees.

Al Badawi said that the UAE Government believes in empowering women and their role in the community, noting that Emirati women are a model of effective decision-making, as many are leaders of key development sectors in the country. He noted the UAE’s local, regional and international commitment to women’s empowerment and gender balance, and its efforts to implement related programmes in many countries, including Ethiopia. Asfa highlighted the key role of business in driving economic growth, providing job opportunities and achieving sustainable development, as well as the importance of involving the private sector in this process.

He also noted recent developments that took place in Ethiopia, and called for the involvement of women in the country’s new business environment, while stressing the importance of women’s empowerment. The UAE Embassy also supports other related training programmes, in cooperation with non-governmental organisations operating in the area of women’s skills development, while other Emirati authorities, such as the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, cooperated with the embassy to hold a seminar on the role of businesswomen in promoting investment and trade, which was held in November 2018 in Addis Ababa.