Geneva, 8 August 2008 - Two women who founded successful firms and received awards from UNCTAD and its Empretec programme -- designed to encourage entrepreneurship in developing countries -- will participate in a 14 August meeting in Zurich on promoting development through the creation of businesses by women.
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 second prize, are currently on "study tours" connected with the awards and intended to help them learn how to further expand their businesses.
They will be among the panellists in a "Discussion with Swiss and African Entrepreneurs" taking place at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) as part of an afternoon-long programme on "Promoting Development through Women Entrepreneurship." The programme runs from 2-5:30 p.m. The panel discussion is scheduled for 3 p.m. Other panellists will be Jolly Sabune, Director of the Cotton Development Organization; Dr. Matthias Hée, Chief Executive Officer of Ocutex AG; Jeannine Brutschin of the Novartis Foundation; and Katharina Zaugg, Chief Executive Officer of Mitenand Putzen GmbH.
Fiorina Mugione, UNCTAD Chief of Enterprise Policies and Capacity Building, will speak at 2:30 p.m. on the topic of "small businesses as a way out of poverty: an introduction to the UN Women in Business Award."
The afternoon meeting will take place in Room G42 of the ETH´s Building CHN, Universitatstrasse 16.
One objective of the session is to bring together investment fund managers, entrepreneurship support institutions, researchers, and government officials interested in promoting entrepreneurship by women, and to create potential partnerships. It is hoped that a network can be established to support the finalists of the UNCTAD/Empretec Women in Business Awards in their efforts to expand their companies, develop new products, and comply with standards affecting their firms.
The event is being organized by the African Technology Development Forum and UNCTAD, and is supported by the North-South Centre of ETH Zurich and the World Trade Institute (WTI) of the University of Bern.
Research shows that 40-50% of enterprises in developing countries are owned and run by women, and that these businesses, usually of small or medium size, are effective in creating employment, reducing poverty, empowering women, increasing women´s decision-making within families, and educating children.
UNCTAD´s Empretec programme has provided training, advice, and follow-up services to over 120,000 entrepreneurs in 27 developing countries.
The inaugural Women in Business Awards were presented in April at the UNCTAD XII quadrennial conference in Accra, Ghana. Ms. Burgan and Ms. Nyabunwa were among ten finalists, all of whom had received training from Empretec.
