Networking Strategy for WBAs in African Continental Free Trade Agreement

April 20, 2021

WomenbizPH President Mylene Abiva was invited as Special Speaker for the capacity building of  Africa Women Business Associations in North, West, Central and South Africa that includes the creation of regional network for women entrepreneurs in Africa to maximize the opportunities and benefits under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.  The program is managed by the International Trade Centre (ITC) Geneva, Switzerland. Mylene Abiva was a speaker for the  knowledge sharing sessions, and  looked into models of other Women Regional Networks in Africa and other continents. WomenbizPH having a 25 year history as the voice of women in commerce in the Philippines was also the Chair of  ASEAN Women Entrepreneurship Network (AWEN) in 2014-2016. Mylene Abiva shared the organization of WomenbizPH and how AWEN has a defined structure and mandate and works closely with ASEAN Leaders, Ministers and Secretariat and actively leads Working Groups on Women and Economy as well as support networking and programs to connect women entrepreneurs thru the national WBAs.

The  Africa WBAs under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) through the Share and Learn Session ,was informed about  Women’s Business Council Philippines mandate, leadership structure, programs and operational support and learned from its best practices from its leadership model as well as the platform that AWEN uses to connect with their members and WBA partners.