COMESA conducted an inception meeting for the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform project, on July 16, 2019 at the Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia. The meeting marks a critical step in preparing the country for the impending launch of the platform.

The 50MAWS Platform project aims at empowering women entrepreneurs by providing access to financial and non-financial information relevant to developing and growing a business. It was developed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in partnership with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African Community (EAC).

The digital networking platform will provide African women entrepreneurs with a comprehensive one stop shop for information on financial services, as well as peer to peer learning, transfer of knowledge and exchange of business ideas and opportunities.

The will also be accessible on hand-held devices, including smartphones and tablets, will enable women to access business training, financial services, locally relevant business information, and mentors, among other services, to support the overall goal of enhanced financial inclusion of women, leading ultimately to increased economic activity in Africa.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Zambia, Mrs. Kayula Siame opened the meeting.

She said: “This platform will spur growth of women and youth run businesses, resulting in enhanced economic prospects, wealth, job creation and ultimately much more empowered womenfolk in Zambia and the COMESA Region.”

Participants were trained on content generation which involves information gathering from respective institutions. This will be uploaded to the 50 MAWSP Digital Networking Platform as soon as the platform is launched to the public in the next few days