Workshop on development through women entrepreneurs

Kathmandu, August 8:

Two women, who founded successful firms and received awards from UNCTAD and its Empretec programme, will participate in an August 14 meeting in Zurich for promoting development by encouraging women to turn entrepreneurs.

Sana Zaal Burgan, founder of the Jordanian firm Med Grant and winner of the inaugural UNCTAD-Empretec Women in Business Award, and Sapphira Nyabunwa, founder of Safi Cleaning Services of Uganda who took the second prize are currently on ‘study tours’ connected with the awards and intend to learn how to expand their businesses, states a press release.

According to a research, 40 to 50 per cent of enterprises in developing countries are owned and run by women and these businesses, usually of small or medium size, are effective in generating employment, reducing poverty, empowering women, increasing women’s decision-making ability in the household and educating children.

UNCTAD’s Empretec programme has provided training, advice and follow-up services to over 1,20,000 entrepreneurs in 27 developing countries.

The inaugural Women in Business Awards were presented in April at the UNCTAD XII quadrennial conference in Accra of Ghana. Burgan and Nyabunwa were among ten finalists, all of whom had received training from Empretec. Fiorina Mugione, UNCTAD Chief of Enterprise Policies and Capacity Building, will lecture ‘Small businesses as a way out of poverty: An introduction to the UN Women in Business Award’.