On June 2oth, the International Women and Business Group and Burgas Free University will host the 4th International Balkan Countries Women and Business Conference.  Held in Burgas, Bulgaria, the conference will focus on a number of issues affecting women entrepreneurs including legal barriers, education, and growth and finance.  In addition, conference participants will also discuss topics such as the corporate social responsibility strategy for women entrepreneurs and company performance of women oriented companies.

For more information or to download the conference agenda, please visit the conference website.

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Earlier this month, the US Embassy in Romania organized an event with women entrepreneurs and students titled, “Women Entrepreneurs in Romania: Perspectives from the Public and Private Sectors.” Speakers at the event included the Minister of SME’s, Maria Grapini, and Gabriela Chiriac, President of the Women’s Association of Entrepreneurs in Galati. Both guest speakers have been closely involved in all the activities dedicated to women entrepreneurs in Romania including the creation of the Coalition of Women Business Associations (CAFA) and are dedicated to consolidating entrepreneurship in Romania.

The discussion brought together several members of CAFA, women entrepreneurs, and students interested in opening their own businesses.  In discussing entrepreneurship and how to become successful in business, Minister Grapini shared her personal experience in developing a personal brand as a manager and entrepreneur.  While focusing on the idea that in order to be successful entrepreneurs need to unite, Ms. Chiriac stated very clearly, “Entrepreneurs unite your forces!”

Though both ladies emphasized the value statement behind the brand as the most important element in building a good and consistent reputation, their message to the young students and other women in the room was to be professional, stay with your values, and be consistent.  It is a very strong message as positive values need constant reinforcement these days, in Romania as well as in many other countries.

For more information, see the press release published by the US Embassy here.

Camelia Bulat
Executive Director
Regional Center for Organization Management

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Bangladesh – CIPE Pakistan Deputy Country Director Hammad Siddiqui participated in the South Asia Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium in Dhaka, which was organized by the U.S. State Department. Participants included leading women entrepreneurs and business association leaders from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. Other participants included U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the State Department’s U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council Sarah Peck, and a range of other U.S. government officials. The Symposium sought to give women entrepreneurs in the region a platform to discuss trade facilitation and an opportunity to share best practices to grow their businesses. Siddiqui presented CIPE’s program to create a network of regional women’s business associations, which will complement the State Department’s efforts in the region.

Nigeria – CIPE Country Director Wumi Gbadamosi and Assistant Program Officer Erica Poff participated in an event in Akure, Ondo State, hosted by the Country Women’s Association of Nigeria (COWAN) in honor of International Rural Women’s Day. COWAN, a leading association representing about 260,000 rural women entrepreneurs across Nigeria, recently participated in a CIPE workshop to build the capacity of Nigerian women’s business associations to better represent their members. Gbadamosi and Poff also met with the Governor’s Special Advisor on NGOs to discuss how Ondo State is improving the business environment and promoting development, as well as the leadership of the Akure City Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture to discuss future programming opportunities with CIPE.

Originally posted on the CIPE Development Blog

The Peshawar Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PWCCI) celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week with an event held in partnership with CIPE and the Kauffman Foundation on November 15. More than 50 students and lecturers from various Peshawar universities gathered to discuss both the hurdles facing women entrepreneurs in Pakistan, as well as the reasons why the Peshawar region lags behind other parts of the country in producing entrepreneurs. Speaking at the event, PWCCI Vice President Shamama Arbab noted that while young people in Pakistan have no lack of potential, a challenging business climate makes it difficult for them to harness their skills and capabilities.

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Index, Pakistan lags in the number of start-ups, with less than half the rate of early-stage entrepreneurial activity than comparable countries. CIPE Pakistan Deputy Country Director Hammad Siddiqui commented that young Pakistani graduates tend to seek employment in multinationals after graduation, rather than considering the option of entrepreneurship. Furthermore, he noted, “To turn around Pakistan’s economy, women need to participate in the mainstream, including by starting their own businesses.”

During the discussion it was stressed that business development centers should be established to incubate new firms, and that chambers and associations can play a key role in mentoring students who are considering entrepreneurship, as well as new entrepreneurs. The participants emphasized that the government should promote an entrepreneurial culture, and universities should introduce entrepreneurship in the curriculum. The student also noted that the media can play a role in encouraging young people to make their careers in business.

For more information about this event, as well as another event marking Global Entrepreneurship Week in Pakistan held in conjunction with the Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, please see more on the Business Support Organization Forum, an online resource for Pakistani chambers.

SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council which was established in the year 2001 in Sri Lanka, has been organizing events in Kathmandu, Nepal on the occasion of International Women’s Day with the objective of developing and promoting women entrepreneurs in the South Asian region.

On the occasion of 102nd International Women’s Month, SCWEC organized an event, “Women Chefs Taking Taste beyond Borders,” on 30th March, 2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The woman chefs were from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It provided a platform to women chefs from South Asia to share their challenges and achievements of their career. It was an inspirational event for women looking forward to develop their career in the culinary industry.

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The Second International Balkan Countries Women and Business Conference will be held December 22, 2011 in Edirne, Turkey. Though the main theme of the conference is “Determining Strategies for Better Women Cooperation in Business Between Balkan Countries”, the conference will also focus on topics including law and regulation on business and women in Balkan countries, practical issues for business and women in Balkan countries, good and bad cases of women and business in Balkan countries, and developing women’s power in various sectors. For additional information about the conference or to see a list keynote speakers and panelists visit the conference page here.

Assoc. Prof. Kiymet Caliyurt,
Conference President
womenbusinesscongress@gmail.com

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The Women’s Alliance of Business Associations in Zimbabwe (WABAZ), a newly formed women’s coalition hosted a public launch of the organization. As part of the launch, Dr. Charity Manyeruke author of a CIPE-commissioned study on women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe presented the report, which examines the enabling environment and potential for women’s empowerment in the country. The Minister of Industry and Commerce, the Minister and Permanent Secretary of Regional Integration and Economic Cooperation, as well as members of Parliament, and the Permanent Secretaries from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Economic Development and the Ministry of SMEs were in attendance. The President of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce – organizers and supporters of WABAZ – gave remarks, as did the Chairwoman of WABAZ. The Ministers gave brief presentations and pledge their maximum support for the coalition. The event, which was also attended by top women business executives in the country, was covered by both the print and electronic media. CIPE is supporting the growth of WABAZ through ZNCC to strengthen the voice of business associations in the country to represent the interests of the private sector in dialogue with the government.

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This year the Association for Women Entrepreneurship Development (ADAF) in Romania celebrated ten years of activity. ADAF is a non-governmental organization which aims at promoting and supporting women entrepreneurship. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, ADAF organized a conference titled “Accomplishments and Prospects for Women Entrepreneurship in Romania”. The event took place on October 27 at the House of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania and brought together over one hundred participants including public officials from the government of Romania, women business association members, individual entrepreneurs, members of the academia, and media representatives.
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Last week members of the Coalition of Women Business Associations (CAFA) in Romania participated in a workshop titled “How to Communicate with Public Officials” which took place in Bucharest. The event brought together fifteen business women and managers representing six women business associations from all over the country and was organized by the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Romania – Timisoara, a CAFA member, and the Advocacy Academy. Another CAFA member, the Association Business Opportunities for Women hosted the event at its headquarters.
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Last week, CIPE hosted a webinar with Selima Ahmad, founder and president of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Ms. Ahmad shared stories of how entrepreneurship is transforming the lives of women in Bangladesh, described her experience in helping women overcome obstacles to equal participation in the marketplace, and shared lessons on leadership in giving voice to women. CIPE Deputy Director for Programs Jean Rogers moderated this exchange on women’s empowerment with participants from the Community of Women Entrepreneurs forum and others from several countries across the globe.

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