English
Français 
Português 
A mission led by CCDG Director Sandra OULATE FATTOH visited the African E-TRADE Group headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda, from April 24 to 29, 2023, to discuss the establishment of a technical partnership framework and support for resource mobilization for the 2nd phase of the 50 Million African Women Speak Up (50MAWSP) project. The African E-Trade Group is an institution created by the African Union to support the development of information and communication technology (ICT) projects for women and young entrepreneurs in Africa.
As part of the prospecting, awareness-raising and mobilization of new technical and financial partners for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the “50 Million African Women have the Word” project, a mission from the ECOWAS Center for Gender Development (CCDG) was in Kigali, Rwanda, from April 24 to 29, 2023. The main objective of this mission was to discuss and finalize a technical partnership and support framework for the 50MAWSP project with the African E-Trade Group (AeTRADE), which is an African Union initiative that brings together public and private sector partners to develop projects that harness the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the benefit of African entrepreneurs today and tomorrow.
Specifically, this mission aimed to present the results obtained during the 1st phase of the 50MAWSP project, as well as the priorities for the 2nd phase of the project, identify potential areas of collaboration between AeTRADE Group and ECOWAS/CCDG in the fields of empowerment, entrepreneurship, access to regional markets, training and financing for women and young people, to discuss resource mobilization and communication strategies to support fundraising for the 2nd phase of the 50MAWYSP project, and finally to discuss the establishment of a discussion and partnership framework between ECOWAS, COMESA, EAC and AeTRADE Group for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the 50MAWYSP project.
The mission enabled the CCDG to meet and hold several working sessions with AeTRADE Group officials, notably its Executive Director, Mr Mulualem SYOUM, and its Operations Manager, Mrs Treasure MAPHANGA. Among other outcomes of this mission, the AeTRADE Group is committed to making the CCDG its partner institution and gateway to ECOWAS and West Africa for all its initiatives and programs, notably in the areas of E-trade, training and financing for women and young entrepreneurs, trade support and the empowerment of women and girls in the 15 ECOWAS member states.
AeTRADE Group is also committed to supporting the mobilization of resources for the 2nd phase of the project, in particular from the African Development Bank. The pan-African institution also intends to make its entire technical platform, E-Commerce technology and resources available to facilitate and increase the visibility, ownership and sustainability of the 5OMAWSP initiative. AeTRADE Group has promised to use the 50MAWSP platform to facilitate experience sharing, access to training, financing and regional markets for women and young entrepreneurs from the 3 economic regions involved in the project (ECOWAS, COMESA and EAC). A consultation will be organized between the 3 RECs and AeTRADE Group with a view to extending the memorandum of understanding currently being drawn up between the group and ECOWAS to the other two RECs (COMESAv and EAC).
Taking advantage of this mission, the CCDG invited the AeTRADE Group to visit its premises and take part in its 20th anniversary celebration, which will take place from June 02 to 06, 2023 in Dakar, Senegal.
Finally, as part of the Forum on Job Creation in Africa and African Integration Week organized by the African Union and AeTRADE Group from July 7 to 9, 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the CCDG will be invited to lead a panel discussion on its Excellence Scholarship Program and its initiatives to promote employment for women and young people in West Africa. Also as part of the forum, an official invitation will be extended to ECOWAS, COMESA and EAC to co-organize a session to promote the visibility of the “50 million African women have their say” project as a highlight of African Integration Week.