SheTrades Global is ITC’s flagship event on women and the economy, serving as a unique opportunity to pioneer lasting and innovative solutions for women’s participation in trade.
Previous editions of SheTrades Global, held in the United Kingdom, Turkey, Brazil, Rwanda, Mexico, and China, included representatives from over 85 countries and generated over US$ 67 million of new business for women entrepreneurs. Events featured high-level panels with many of the world’s leading companies, government officials, and first ladies as well as 4000 pre-scheduled B2B meetings, mentoring sessions with industry specialists, a tech challenge, and a showcase room.
2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and two years since the launch of Buenos Aires Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment. Significant efforts have been made to speed up progress on women’s participation in the economy and trade. To move the needle, collaborative and innovative strategies are necessary to ensure systematic and sustainable change.
SheTrades Global will feature talks by high-level officials of the African Union Commission and Government of Ethiopia as well as conversations with Trade Ministers, first ladies, and core private-sector partners. Themes that will be discussed include how free trade agreements catalyze more inclusive trade for women, with a spotlight on the African Continental Free Trade Area; innovative tools that promote trade and women’s economic empowerment such as the SheTrades Outlook; and priorities that SheTrades private sector partners are acting upon.
SheTrades Global will be preceded by two days of closed workshops where women’s business associations will discuss how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can deliver economic opportunities for women. In addition, key SheTrades partners will discuss business models to deliver together on shared goals.
VENUE:
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
19 November 2019
Original source: ITC
Published on 13 November 2019
