The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | Ronald Musoke | On Aug.21, Natalie E. Brown, the U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, launched the second cohort of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) at the American Centre in Kampala.
The training which will run over the next eight months will see about 300 female Ugandan entrepreneurs equipped with the tools needed to create and grow their own businesses, raise capital, and effectively network with other successful business owners.
“For societies to thrive, women and girls must be able to participate fully in their communities socially, economically, and politically, because investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication, and inclusive economic growth,” said Amb. Brown.
The Academy of Women Entrepreneurs was launched in 2019 to support and amplify the economic contributions of women around the world and Uganda is among the more than 80 countries participating in the programme.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs also runs in Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The programme offers educational resources for women entrepreneurs through guided training and engagement from local business leaders to ensure small business growth and success. It also provides women entrepreneurs with the skills, resources, and networks needed to start and scale successful businesses.
The curriculum is based on the DreamBuilder course, an online platform developed through partnership between Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and global copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan.
Atiak Co-operative Society is implementing the second cohort in Kampala, Gulu, Soroti, Mbale, and Mbarara in partnership with the Network of Women in Agribusiness and Development (NoWAD), iProfile Foundation, NSSF, Stanbic Business Incubator, and Pooja Chandra Pama, Private AWE Donor and Founder/President of ACE Health Foundation.
Since the U.S. Mission in Uganda launched the programme, 150 women have graduated from the programme.
