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EAC Business Women set to reap benefits from Moringa Sector

East African Community ,Arusha ,Tanzania, 27th November, 2020: The East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP), in collaboration with the EAC Secretariat, and financial support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the Intra-Regional Trade Facility Initiative (IRTF), successfully launched the project Value Addition for Increased Market Access in the Moringa Sector in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The 25th to 27th November, 2020 training workshop included women in the moringa value chain from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on branding, packaging, and standard certification.  

The EAC Secretariat Principal Gender and Community Development Officer, Ms. Generose Minani, pointed out that the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community and the 5th EAC Development Strategy 2016/17 – 2020/21 clearly outline the commitment of the EAC in promoting women in socio-economic development and in business.

“The EAWiBP project on value addition for increased market access in the agro-processing sector, connecting and linking women in moringa business across the three EAC Partner States Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, contributes directly to this goal. The project engages and supports women in moringa production and trade and focuses on improving competitiveness and strengthening value addition for moringa products for easy market access.

The EAC has developed a policy framework to promote the participation of women in intra-regional trade, such as the EAC Gender Policy 2018 and the draft Regional Strategy for Promoting Women in Business for Socio-Economic Development, 2015 – 2025,” said Ms. Minani. 

EAWiBP Chair Person, Ms. Angela Begaine, indicated that as a result of the implementation of this project, national associations of moringa producers and traders had been established in Uganda (Uganda Moringa Association), Kenya (Kenya Moringa Association) and Tanzania (Tanzania Moringa Association, TAMOA) as well as a functional e-hub (https://eawibp.org/projects/project/eawibp-irtfeac-giz) for showcasing and connecting women entrepreneurs in moringa sector. Advocacy for the inclusion of moringa products in the EAC Simplified Trade Regime list is at an advanced level, and women in the moringa sector are aware of the business facilitation requirements for their products.

Ms. Begaine added that EAC women traders faced multiple challenges which discourage their full participation in regional trade. “The training is an opportunity to strengthen the role of women in EAC cross-border trade towards promoting trade and gender in the EAC. Therefore, EAWiBP and IRTF organized this workshop at the backdrop of enhancing knowledge and awareness of the women in business towards increasing market access for their products.” 

Mr. Bernd Schmidt, Deputy Programme Manager, EAC-GIZ SEAMPEC Programme, pointed out that EAWiBP’s project was an important contribution to ensuring that women in business had relevant economic information at their fingertips and gained access to the skills that grant them effective participation in regional trade.

He underscored that EAC-GIZ supports this project because of the importance to provide women in business with all possible opportunities to reap the social and economic benefits of cross-border trade through participation, networking, digital tools and advocacy for policies and legislation that facilitate their doing of business. Mr. Schmidt concluded that the new e-hub was an excellent initiative for facilitating market access and linkages for women entrepreneurs both in and outside the region because e-commerce has a great potential to facilitate cross border trade. He called upon all women in business to make use of this new tool effectively and efficiently to strengthen their business. 

Notes to Editors 

About EAWiBP  

The East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP) is a forum that brings together business and professional women from across the East African Community (EAC). Its membership comprises of: national apex bodies / associations / networks of business women (including associations of women formal and informal cross-border traders); professional women associations; and regional civil society organizations working to promote business women and women’s socio-economic advancement. The platform works in each East African country through national business and professional associations across the region and by virtue of this currently represents over 20,000 business and professional women in the region. The platform also works closely with the EAC Gender Community Development and CSOs Department to design gender inclusive positions on a variety of issues. 

EAWiBP recommendations to the EAC Partner States to address the challenges faced by women in the Moringa Sector  

  1. Recognizing there is a wide knowledge gap amongst women in business, the EAC women in business called upon the EAC Partner States to joint hands to build capacity for agro-processors on production skills, processing, value addition, standards, branding and marketing of moringa products.  
  2. Noting that there is need to facilitate harmonization of products standards, the EAC Women in business urged the EAC Partner States to harmonize standards of moringa products processing, packaging, marketing and transportation. 
  3. The EAC women entrepreneurs called upon the EAC Partner States to join hands in creating awareness on the economic value and health benefits of moringa at national and regional levels  
  4. The Partner States are urged to contribute to strengthening the established women associations of Moringa in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to open markets within and outside the EAC region.  
  5. Finally, the EAC Partner States are urged to establish moringa processing systems to facilitate community processing plants or cottage industries near the growing areas that women can access for quality processing of moringa products.  

About the EAC Secretariat 

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of 6 Partner States: The Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republic of Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

As one of the fastest growing regional economic blocs in the world, the EAC is widening and deepening co-operation among the Partner States in various key spheres for their mutual benefit. These spheres include political, economic and social. 

At the moment, the regional integration process is in full swing as reflected by the encouraging progress of the East African Customs Union, the establishment of the Common Market in 2010 and the implementation of the East African Monetary Union Protocol. 

About GIZ 

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a global service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, with 22,199 employees. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security. As a public-benefit federal enterprise, GIZ supports the German Government – in particular the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – and many public and private sector clients in around 120 countries in achieving their objectives in international cooperation.

GIZ supports the Intra-Regional Trade Facility through the EAC-GIZ programme ‘Support to East African Market Driven and People Centred Integration’ (SEAMPEC). 

CONTACT 

Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org 

 OR

 Ms. Angela Begaine 
Chairperson East African Women in Business Platform 
Tel: +255 783 860 806
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 


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