| Nairobi, Kenya 17 - 23 November 2008 |
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| SACOMA CFE was given the opportunity to host the Global Entrepreneurship Week events in Kenya in 2008.This brought the chance to come up with activities that engaged young entrepreneurial minds, in exploring a wide range of ideas. |
One such event of the week, was the Womens day that saw the coming together of aspiring business individuals from different parts of the country Below is a summary of the day's events.
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Wednesday 19th November
Women in Entrepreneurship
Venue: Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC)
Organisations: Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, Sacoma |
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Thousands of women gathered at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya on November 19th during a forum on Women in Entrepreneurship. The forum was part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week events which took place worldwide in over 100 countries.
This meeting brought women from all corners of Kenya, from Malindi in the south to Kisumu in the west, towns separated by over 1,000 kilometres. The women focused on Entrepreneurship, but also discussed about unemployment, illiteracy, and the ravages of HIV/Aids and inaccessibility of funds in their bid to establish and strengthen their enterprises.
The Coca-Cola East and Central Africa together with Sacoma, hosted the Kenyan chapter of Global Entrepreneurship Week in partnership with the ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development.
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Several issues affecting women in entrepreneurship were highlighted at the forum, with women talking of how challenging it was for them to access affordable credit due to high bank charges. Every speaker spoke on the pivotal role that women in entrepreneurship play to enhance economic development in Kenya.
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In her opening remarks Sacoma Chief Executive Officer, Perez Ochieng said, 'women should be competitive and be inspired by the many other women who have had successful stint in the world of entrepreneurship. Mrs Ochieng said, 'Sacoma has empowered groups of women with vital information on entrepreneurship and how women can utilize their potentials as well as harness available opportunities. She said in future Sacoma would take the Global Entrepreneurship Week to the 210 constituencies in Kenya so as to reach a wider audience of women.
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Careen Asamba-Samwa, a fashion designer from the coastal town of Malindi expressed her sincere gratitude to stakeholders who are preoccupied with ways of empowering the woman to succeed in entrepreneurship. Mrs Samwa narrated of how she began her business in 1997, armed only with a sewing machine, a wedding present by her mother and how she converted her bedroom into a business premise.
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Norah Odwesso, Public Affairs and Communications Director of Coca-Cola East and Central Africa, noted every woman would want to become an entrepreneur and run a successful business.
"They want to infuse their businesses and organizations with the spirit of innovation. They want flexibility, and they want to make money," said Ms Odwesso
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For many years in Kenya, entrepreneurship had been a preserve of men, mostly seen as aggressive and go-getter. But today, the business scene has changed and more women are causing ripples in entrepreneurship.
Acknowledging Sacoma for its role of passing on information about entrepreneurship and business coaching, the Minister for Gender and Children Affairs, Esther Murugi said in order for any country to develop; women needed to be included in policy making.
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"We are keen to work with women and we are ready to support them. The success stories we are witnessing here today is a clear testimony that women can make it in business," said the minister.
She said gender equity and equality is important for economic development and the government was committed to economic empowerment of women to build strong, stable families and a prosperous nation.
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Ms Odwesso of Coca-Cola stressed on the need by the government, private sector, civil society and the media to highlight the role that women play in eradicating poverty and their invaluable contribution to the economy.
"Women play a critical role in boosting economies through enterprise. Everyone in this room will agree with me that women's entrepreneurship is an untapped source of economic growth," she said.
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She recognised two women entrepreneurs, Rosemary Njeri, the fourth largest distributor of Coca-Cola products in Kenya and Mary Nduku another leading distributor in Emali, 200 km from Kenya's capital, Nairobi. Ms Njeri and Ms Nduku, she said were among many other women making a mark in entrepreneurship.
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Coca-Cola is one of the private companies in Kenya promoting entrepreneurship through distribution of its products to small sized businesses known as Manual Distribution Centers (MDCs)
The model, Ms Odwesso said, has created more than 2000 entrepreneurs and provided employment to over 8,000 people.
"On average, an MDC can provide up to 16 local jobs along its value chain and in countries where this network has been implemented, it accounts for over 80 % of total sales," she said.
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The forum focused on problems and challenges facing the women as a whole. Many women complained of the myriad difficulties when they want to start a business. One delegate recounted her experience when she wanted to procure a supply tender but in vain. She cited monopoly in the market as one of challenges women in entrepreneurship face.
But Mrs Ochieng, Sacoma CEO emphasized that women have to be more aggressive and excel in entrepreneurship despite the challenges at hand.
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"Business is not only about success, it is all about challenges. Please don't give up," said Mrs Ochieng.
The issue of credit accessibility by women dominated the forum with Ms Murugi, the minister warning financial institutions charging more than eight per cent interest on loan from the Women's Enterprise Fund, will not be allowed to disburse more money.
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The minister said, Sh800 million of the Sh2 billion Women's Enterprise Fund was yet to be disbursed and urged women to make use of the funds. But most women raised grave concern over its inaccessibility.
Ms Odwesso said Coca-Cola will continue to support businesses relevant to women in Africa and by 2010, plans to establish between 1,300 and 2,000 new independent distribution businesses and create between 5,300 to 8,400 new jobs.
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Pictures from this event can be found via this LINK.
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For more about Global Enterpreneurship Week please click here. |
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The list of activities that took place during The Week can be found via the link below:
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| To see our partners in Kenya, during The Week, click here |
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Global Founders
 
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Global Sponsors
  
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