Global Courant 2023-05-26 14:18:20
Seven organizations from Africa and Europe have teamed up to form a consortium and launched the project, WITH: Boosting Women Entrepreneurship Education in Tourism and Hospitality in Sub-Saharan Africa.
WITH, co-funded by the European Union, was officially launched last week in Seville, Spain.
The partner organizations are: Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), South Africa; Seville Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation, Spain; International Agency for Advice and Mobility (INCOMA), Spain; Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Nigeria; Centro Studi e Iniziative Europeo (CESIE), Italy; Equip Consulting Group, Malawi; and Gift Women Link Foundation, Uganda.
WITH is a two-year initiative that aims to educate and empower a new generation of climate- and sustainability-conscious female intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs and business owners to succeed in the tourism and hospitality sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.
WITH’s main objectives are to equip young women with the soft skills and personal and social competences necessary to succeed as entrepreneurs, support trainers and educators in updating their knowledge and practices that are aligned with the needs of the labor market and international practices, introduce and promote sustainable tourism and hospitality concepts, and foster experiential learning opportunities by partnering with public and private institutions active in vocational education and training (VET) and the labor market.
Francisco Herrero León, President of Seville’s Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Shipping, welcomed the WITH partners to their headquarters for a kick-off meeting last week and said the organization was very proud of its involvement in a project where entrepreneurship and women are connected.
“At the Chamber of Commerce of Seville, we work intensively every day to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially in recent years. We strengthen the role of women entrepreneurs and support them through programs and initiatives. We hope to continue helping women entrepreneurs around the world through the WITH project.
“The kick-off meeting has only been a starting point to inspire organizations. During these two years, the European and African entities involved will work together to strengthen the entrepreneurial mindset of young women in Sub-Saharan African countries and bring sustainability awareness to the new generations in the tourism and hospitality field.”
AWIEF Founder and CEO, Irene Ochem, added: “We are passionate about helping African women entrepreneurs build and scale the next generation of innovative and sustainable businesses that will impact the lives of all of us for years to come. We are taking this to the next level by establishing effective multi-stakeholder partnerships, such as the WITH project, to mobilize and share knowledge, expertise and resources to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.”
Juan Guerrero, Head of Research and Innovation, INCOMA, said: “INCOMA brings WITH its more than 20 years of experience in highly relevant projects such as ATHENA, SMART Volunteering for Female Migrants, CulTVET and EU4BCC, among others. We are very excited and inspired after this partnership kick-off meeting and the launch of the project in our city, and we look forward to seeing the results become visible.”
Giulia Tarantino, International Cooperation Coordinator at CESIE said: “CESIE is delighted to be working on the WITH project as it focuses on three key aspects that are central to our activities: women empowerment, entrepreneurship and tourism. We have developed several initiatives in this area and provide training and coaching opportunities to people interested in starting a business. We will try to capitalize on all these experiences to make a positive contribution to the WITH project.”
Rollins Chitika, Managing Director, Equip Consulting Group, said: “The WITH project will inspire young women to seize opportunities, overcome challenges and achieve their entrepreneurial goals. This is the generation that promises to overcome the existing barriers to economic development in our country and Equip Consulting Group is delighted to work with partners from Africa and Europe to contribute to achieving economic growth.”
Follow WITH Project on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more information. For questions, email (email protected).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF).
Contact:
Ryan Andrews
(email protected)
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