www.fewa.or.ke

MOWE PAN AFRICAN CONFERENCE, GALA DINNER & AWARDS CEREMONY 2014

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FINAL REPORT

PART ONE

FEWA PAN AFRICAN MOWE CONFERENCE

PART TWO

FEWA PAN AFRICAN MOWE

GALA DINNER & AWARDS CEREMONY

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REPORT PART ONE

FEWA PAN AFRICAN MOWE

CONFERENCE

ON

ACCESSING EAC MARKETS

THROUGH

INTEGRATION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

TO

SUPPLY & VALUE CHAINS

HELD ON 25TH NOVEMBER 2014

AT

NAIROBI SAFARI CLUB

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THE PAN AFRICAN MONTH OF THE WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

CONFERENCE

PROGRAM

9.00an -9.15 am Welcome and Acknowledgements FEWA

Ms. Felicity Biriri-Vice Chairperson, FEWA

9.15 am- 9.30 am Opening Remarks

Mr. George Awalla – Head of Programmes, VSO Jitolee

9.30 – 9.45am Opening Remarks

Ms. Noreen Toroka, National WED coordinator, Tanzania, ILO

9.45am – 10.10 am Opening Remarks

Ms. Joanne Mwangi – Chairperson, FEWA

10.10 am – 10.40 am TEA BREAK AND PHOTO SESSIONS

10.40 am – 2.26 pm Presentation of Young Entrepreneurs in Kenya

Ms. Waithera Gaitho – Alternatives Africa

Presentation on Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in the EAC Market

Mr. Mugambi (MSEA)

Simplified Trade Rules and Procedures

Mr. Kahenu (MEAC)

Vote of Thanks FEWA

Ms. Felicity Biriri

2.26 pm -3.26pm BREAK FOR LUNCH

3.26 pm – 4.30 pm Inspiration talk on the Rights of Kenyan Women

Entrepreneurs in Accessing Regional Supply and Value Chains

Ms. Daisy Amdany

4.30 pm – 5.00pm Introducing FEWA SACCO

Ms. Julia Kibore, board member of FEWA

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On Tuesday 25th

November 2014, members of FEWA and other guests gathered at the Nairobi

Safari Club, Kirinyaga Room for the Pan African Month of the Woman Entrepreneur (MOWE)

Conference.

WELCOME REMARKS

Ms. Helen Njoroge, the MC for the event

welcomed members to the conference

and introduced Ms. Felicity Biriri to give

the welcome remarks.

Opening remarks by Ms. Felicity Biriri, Vice

Chairperson - FEWA.

Ms. Biriri began by welcoming the participants to

the MOWE 2014 and also acknowledged the

sponsors who made the Conference possible such as

ILO, partners such as VSO Jitolee, Kenya Youth

Business Trust, Ilingwesi Women Group, Ministry

of EAC affairs, all the participants including FEWA

Secretariat, FEWA SACCO and FEMCOM.

She then explained that MOWE is a month to

celebrate women entrepreneurs. It is celebrated in

East and Central Africa That 50 % of adults are

women in business and that women contribute the

most in the agri- business sector. She then stated

that in order to conduct their businesses efficiently,

there need be an enabling environment. She introduced the theme of the conference; Accessing

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EAC Markets through Integration of Women to Supply and Value Chains. She declared that

access to financial services and how to tap into the EA market will be the main focus of the

conference.

That the growing EA market presents a great opportunity for anyone engaged in business.

In conclusion, Ms. Biriri encouraged the participants to use networks like FEWA to build their

confidence and take advantage of the 30% government tenders reserved for women as well as

engage the parliamentarians to support women initiatives.

Opening remarks by Mr. George Awalla, Head of Programmes, VSO Jitolee

Ms. Helen Njoroge then introduced Mr. George

Awalla to the podium. He welcomed everyone on

behalf of VSO Jitolee. He said that VSO Jitolee is

proud to be associated with MOWE

He noted that Sustainable change comes through –

ownership, participation, empowerment and

inclusion. That is why VSO Jitolee vigorously

promotes volunteering, knowledge sharing and

advocacy as a powerful to tackle poverty and

inequality.

By VSO Jitolee enabling Women, Young People and

Persons with Disability, they in turn bring positive

change through their organizations; enterprises and

communities then development happens.

He then gave a brief introduction about VSO Jitolee. VSO Jitolee is registered in Kenya as an

international NGO and is a federation member of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) whose

mission is to bring people together to fight poverty through secure livelihoods Programme and

Responsible Citizenship in building engaged citizens in participation and development.

He stated that this conference is a perfect avenue for advocating for favorable business

environment, for the VSO Jitolee target group - Women, Young People and Persons with

Disability.

In focusing on women in entrepreneurship, he pointed out that majority of women are engaged in

the very small businesses category and are characterized as having limitations in education,

business development and management skills. These women face a lot of challenges. At the

same time, he acknowledged the innovative solutions developed by illustrious women

entrepreneurs who have broken the glass ceiling and were being celebrated and recognized.

Mr. Awalla emphasized that the governments in East Africa have tried to support women to

move from informal trade to formal trade with little success. That the treaty for the establishment

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of the EAC recognizes the importance of effective participation of women in trade and

development activities of the Community.

However, it has been observed by experts that weak implementation of the East African Customs

and Common Market protocol, particularly as it affects women in business, is hurting cross

border trade and regional integration.

He reported about a study undertaken by Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the

Advancement of Women (EASSI) in 2011, which established that understanding the

Commonalities in the type of trade that women engage in, is critical in finding entry points for

targeted interventions that begin to address their challenges.

That the key challenges that women traders’ encounter includes high transportation costs and

related challenges, inadequate capital and tax related challenges within the countries as well as

currency exchange losses. Other issues including access to free trade, corruption and harassment

of women traders (especially young women) continue to be of great concern for women traders.

Many still do not know their rights particularly small-scale women entrepreneurs.

He also shared that in 2012, VSO in Tanzania in conjunction with UN Women undertook an

Assessment of Women Engaged in Cross Border Trade to Support Formation of Networks in

Tanzania. The report concluded that to achieve political integration, regional trade treaties,

including the customs protocol must first address the gender parity principle that will bolt all the

parts of the vehicle and give the women drivers a strong vehicle.

He added that the Consultative Dialogue Framework for the private sector, civil society and

other interest groups exists and provides space for active participation of non-state actors in

decision making process of the East African Community. That VSO Jitolee is reaching out to

partners like EACSOF, EASSI, ILO, FEWA, CLARION, and development partners (and

funders) to work with key EAC parliamentary organs and national parliaments in the EAC

Countries towards realization of rights of women, young people and PWDs in cross border trade

as spelt out in the EAC Protocol.

He believes that cross-border trade amongst women traders and other marginalized groups can

be strengthened if partners and funders support gender responsive policies and promotion of best

practices from other parts of the world.

In this regard, he pointed out that VSO Jitolee is advocating for effective implementation of sub-

regional trade protocols as they relate to women in trade and are prospecting for partners to

support the strengthening of institutional capacity of civil society actors in supporting women in

trade/ Consolidating civil society voice in the EAC.

That it is through linkages with FEWA, ILO, the Association of Media Women in Kenya, the

Ministries of East African Affairs, EA Women in Business Platform and other civil society

partners, media houses and the private sector that comprehensive information on women rights;

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women in cross border trade; the rights of young people and PWDs to information among others

issues can be disseminated.

He announced that VSO Jitolee is keen to realize increased body of knowledge on cross border

trade in East Africa, enhanced implementation of sub regional trade protocols as they relate to

women and marginalized groups cross border trader, strengthened voice and capacity of civil

society, and networks of women, young people and PWDs in cross border trade represent to

represent the voice of women; young people and other marginalized groups in cross border trade

for its target groups:

In conclusion, he thanked FEWA, ILO, Ministry of EA Affairs and other partners who have

supported this conference and was excited to be part of this gathering.

Opening Remarks by Ms. Noreen Toroka, National WED coordinator, Tanzania, ILO

WED

Ms. Noreen thanked FEWA and partners for

convening the meeting. She was glad to see

young women. This is the enterprise where

most of the young people are employed. She

explained that ILO as an organization promotes

decent work agenda and promoting

entrepreneurship is part of that agenda.

Through its programs, there are at least four

programs centered on building

entrepreneurship.

WEDEE’s main objective is to build the

capacity of institution and women

entrepreneurs through training and creating

linkages in different aspects such as market linkages. She thanked VSO Jitolee on their work on

cross border trade. The EA market is very big but has lots of challenges. She stated that ILO has

commissioned consultants to put together market and trade protocols. There are internal issues

such as internal taxes before traders can understand the EA community. There is need for trade

related institutions to create awareness on internal protocols and trade.

She remarked that most of the barriers to trade are mainly because of lack of awareness. She

reported that the ILO has commissioned consultants to create an information pack that can be

used to help communicate to women the salient features of trading within the region. That

FEWA, VSO Jitolee will be instrumental in disseminating this information through their

resources to spread awareness

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Ms. Toroka explained that in Tanzania, MOWE was celebrated through combined activities. One

of such is Trade fairs, which is the most popular in Tanzania. She also reported in Tanzania,

WED is working closely with Equity bank where they have Nufaika program, a loan product for

women that combines training and loan. ILO trains the bank staff to train women and get the

loan. Ms. Toroka was grateful to UN women, who have been able to establish a women cross

border platform. However, she pointed out that the capacity of women still needs to be improved.

In conclusion, she challenged the women entrepreneurs to ask themselves whether they have

exhausted the internal markets before thinking to cross the border for trade. She advised women

to first focus on their internal market as they build their capacity to cross the border.

Opening remarks by Ms. Joanne Mwangi –

Chairperson, FEWA

Ms. Joanne recognized ILO and VSO Jitolee for

their support and ongoing partnerships. She also

thanked the participants who were present,

explaining that they are the ones who make up

FEWA. Joanne was thankful because even though

Kenyan women entrepreneurs were still a work in

progress, they have made it clear that they will put

their best foot forward. One case in point was

the30% procurement provision that happened as a

result of consistent advocacy. This provision gives

women an opportunity to do business with the

government. She challenged women to do business

with the government and that at least 50% of us

should do business with the government. She continued to encourage the women that as they

were in business to make money, they should be unashamed about that. She was very enthused to

hear about best practices from FEWA.

She mentioned that if women wanted recognition, they must register as businesses owned by

women, youth or persons with disability so that they are counted as women owned businesses.

She then explained that FEWA is run by a small team and that FEWA SACCO is also a small

team working full time at FEWA. She appealed to those with skills that can help other women in

Kenya to please plug in. To come and give back and pass it forward. She explained that FEWA

is focused on the following goals;

Awareness creation; communication through SMS, twitter, Facebook and through

emails. FEWA always asks all our networks to share info. This way, we meet our primary

goal

Financial access; in asking what the barriers to women access to finance is, we came up

with a SACCO. It mirrors on the ‘merry go round’ principle of saving.

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Social empowerment; a lot of women lack the confidence to engage at the level they

need to. Women seem to be kind of shy to talk about money. We need to learn how we

position ourselves and how we develop our brand. Because we want to have strong

confident women who speak authoritatively and get what they want.

Ms. Mwangi added that FEWA partners with the Ministry of Finance, Devolution, and will be

organizing a meeting soon for women to speak with the Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Anne Waiguru

what challenges they encounter. FEWA also works closely with the Ministries of trade and

industrialization. She mentioned that the Ministry of Industrialization in particular will be giving

grants to start ups. FEWA also works with the ministries of Labour and the EA Community

Affairs. Across the region, FEWA represents Kenya in EAC at the East African Women in

Business Platform (EAWiBP) whose goal is to get the EAC to remember women entrepreneurs

exist. FEWA is interested in making sure that there is participation of women at all levels of

decision making. She stated that FEWA chairs the East African Entrepreneurs Exchange

Network (EAWEExN) which is in seven countries. It has partnered with women in North Africa

looking for specific areas of engagement as well as the Network of African Business Women

(NABW) championed by Graca Machel to bring the whole of Africa together so that women in

business can look at themselves as continental.

She announced that FEWA decided that in order to have SMART and deliberate goals, they are

going to select from Kenya 10 women running medium sized companies. Under the deliberate

strategy of training, that in 5 years their businesses will have moved from being medium to large.

The next level is women running small business, with a turnover of between 70 million and 15

million per annum. In this group, 100 women are to be handpicked and trained and given access

to become medium sized. Those that make a turnover of below 15 million per annum will have

1000 women undergo the training to help them subsequently move up to the medium sized

businesses.

The key requirements for this participation are integrity, commitment and drive.

She pointed out that it is important that when your business is doing well, to make it visible.

Share your success story and it will motivate another woman entrepreneur.

She shared success stories of several ladies who, because of the fire lit in them during the last

MOWE conference, went on to secure great contracts. She advised women to let their voices be

heard. You could be the inspiration to someone in the room.

She remarked that as inspired women entrepreneurs, the thinking should graduate from local to

global. She also encouraged women to bring along their younger sisters, daughters and friends to

learn about the experiences of others, citing that it is always smarter economics to invest in

younger women.

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She closed her remarks by inviting

Faith Mamicha, the owner of Comity

Travels to share her success story of

how she managed to get a huge

contract through pursuing the

connections she made at a meeting she

was invited to by FEWA in Malaysia.

She concluded by saying that those

inspired by the conference should use

the knowledge they’ve acquired to

grow their businesses.

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Presentation of Young Entrepreneurs in Kenya

Ms. Waithera Gaitho – Alternatives Africa

Ms. Waithera Gaitho began by thanking FEWA

for giving her an opportunity to come and

present about the work of Alternatives Africa.

She described Alternatives Africa as a youth

development nonprofit corporation founded by

youth for the youth. At alternatives, she believes

they can breathe light in the national anthem and

that is why alternatives exists.

Her presentation showed that Africa remains the

only growing continent with youth. By 2050

there will be over 1.2 billion youth in Africa.

She pointed out that this presents an opportunity

for youth to drive the economy through

innovative ideas. In addition, 80% of Kenyans

are below 30 years. She said that Alternatives offers programs to both urban and rural youth. It

provides various platforms on which these youth are able to interact with youth from other

economic strata, individuals and organizations that are willing to share their experiences and

expertise as well as expose these youth to organizational systems, structures and processes.

She then talked about the latest event, the High Level Consultative Young Entrepreneurs Forum

organized in partnership with FEWA and the Friedrich Foundation where the youth were

provided the space to candidly discuss the challenges they face and offer practical and SMART

solutions for these challenges.

Some of the challenges she mentioned include:

In business registration she mentioned that the registration process is lengthy and tedious, there

are brokers acting as middle men, the terminologies used is alien to youth, the registration

requirements of limited companies is very expensive for youth and the requirement of bank

statements poses unrealistic expectations for startup companies.

In access to information she mentioned the lack of information at the community level about

business startups, excessive fraud due to lack of guidelines and handbooks, computer illiteracy,

class discrimination when trying to access information and unfavorable modes of communication

at the community level.

In access to finance, she mentioned prohibitive bank requirements (they are not startup friendly),

high interest rates, long and tedious process in getting YEDF loans and that the CRB is currently

blacklisting youth who default on MPESA/Mshwari loans yet they lack customer care services

for defaulters.

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She proposed solutions such as access to information &ICT training, publication of guidelines

and handbooks, mentorship and entrepreneurial skills development, aligning education systems

with skills needed in the corporate sector, inclusion and participation of youth in the private

sector, consider giving 30%of tenders to youth, and an establishment of a corporate youth fund.

She explained that Alternatives, guided by its public policy paper 2014-2016, is in the process of

laying a strong foundation to ensure that these proposed solutions become a reality. For example,

the need to inculcate an entrepreneurship culture by holding quarterly young entrepreneur

forums, as a nonprofit youth corporate, liaise with the corporate sector, government institutions

and development partners, Train and build youth capacity on various socio economic issues

(presently organizing an economic policy training with one of the leading universities) and

pursue partnerships with relevant government ministries and parastatals, corporates and

development partners.

She concluded by appreciating FEWA for believing in Alternatives and in youth. For permitting

the youth to sit at FEWA’s corporate feet and stand on their corporate shoulders.

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Presentation on Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in the EAC Market

Mr. Mugambi (MSEA)

He was proud to see that FEWA has transitioned to a professional organization collaborating

with others in empowering women. He thanked

FEWA for its continuity since its formation.

He explained that the brief functions of MSEA, a

Parastatal formed in 2012 is to think, see, and

disseminate information about the MSEs.

He was happy that the chair of FEWA sits on

MSEA’s board.

He stated that the function of MSEA is to undertake

policy reform, advise the government, give/enhance

access to markets by providing suitable facilities in

the rural areas, enhance entrepreneurial technical

skills and provide a forum where ideas are exchanged and promote gender participation.

In regard to opportunities for Women entrepreneurs in EAC, he cautioned women to explore the

market and understand their target client in relation to their product or service. They must then

test their product both in the internal market and the export market. He stressed on the

importance of participating in the marketing of the product. The next step is standardizing the

product to meet the market requirements. He pointed out the need to have the KEBs (Kenya

Bureau of Statistics) stamp of approval. FEWA or MSEA can help you in acquiring this. Finally

he advised that one must have a bar code and ETR receipts for tax purposes.

In regard to trade across borders, he stressed that women entrepreneurs need to know that the

EAC protocol was developed for their use and therefore they must use it.

In exploring business solutions, Mr. Mugambi stressed that women entrepreneurs need to come

up with innovative solutions and introduce new concepts to add quality to their products. With

regards to supplies, the question is, are there

goods or services you can supply to the

government? As for gift items; what can you

sell as a gift. These should be a memorabilia

that people can buy and associate with Kenya.

Whether there are opportunities to expand your

business by opening stores in other countries.

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He concluded by thanking the participants and handed over the strategic plan for MSEA to Ms.

Biriri, the Vice Chairperson of FEWA.

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Simplified Trade Rules and Procedures

Mr. Kahenu (MEAC)

Mr. Kahenu began by giving a brief

introduction to the EAC Treaty. It was signed

on 30th

November 1999 and became

operational on 7th

July 2000. The EAC aims

at widening and deepening the cooperation

among the Partners States in political,

economic and social fields for their mutual

benefit. To this extent, the EAC countries

established the Customs Union in 2005,

Common Market in 2010 and are working to

establish a Monetary Union and eventually a

Political Federation of East African States.

He then shared an anecdote about the need

for women to have confidence and trade in the region. Confidence is the difference between you

getting and fulfilling those contracts and shying away.

He then explained how through a concept note, a question on cross border trade for women

brought about the need for guidelines for trading in the region. This is because it is crucial to

make border points safe for women entrepreneurs.

He reported that the simplified trade rules and procedures will explain how and what you can do

to trade in the EAC. Indeed, there has to be accountability in order to do business in these

countries. Hence the need for the Common Market protocol, and the importance of eliminating

non trade tariffs.

He explained that the Common Market protocol established the EAC Common Market which

was signed on 20th November 2009 and contains 56 Articles and 6 Annexes of Regulations. It

has been packaged in such a way that one will know what the rules for trading within the EAC

region are. After the Information Pack is simplified well enough, the ILO will support capacity

building once the simplified guidelines to the Protocol have been finalized.

On Opportunities available in the EAC for Women Entrepreneurs, He shared the

following;

EAC has a market size of about 143.5 million people and a combined GDP (nominal) of US

dollars 110.3 billion.

Employment opportunities are abound for professionals, administrators and managers,

technicians and associate professionals, Craft and related workers

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There are opportunities to trade in goods and services, engage in businesses like communication,

distribution services, education services, financial services, tourism and travel related services

and transport services.

However, while opportunities are abound, he acknowledged that there are also challenges such

as non-tariff measures and barriers, outstanding issues with the Common Markets Protocol,

implementation of directives and decisions, and national sovereignty concerns that have been

identified.

In regard to what the EAC has been able to do for women entrepreneurs, he said that

MEAC in partnership with ILO has commissioned consultants to come up with a simplified trade

rules and protocols guide. The primary users of this guide will be women cross border traders

and associations and networks of women entrepreneurs. He then gave a presentation on the

structure of the guide.

Structure of the guide.

This guide provides information on key EAC trade rules and procedures, related to trade taking

place within the EAC (intra-EAC trade) in a simplified and user-friendly manner. The rules and

procedures have been presented in the three key sections namely; 1) rules relating to trade in

agricultural produce; 2) rules relating to trade in semi-processed and manufactured goods and

3) rules relating to trade in services. Country specific information on registration of businesses

and companies has also been provided in the Appendix Section of this Guide.

In the EAC, he explained that there are different rules and procedures when trading in

unprocessed agricultural produce, manufactured and goods, and services. The guide outlines

these rules, regulation and procedures in each category.

On the challenges identified, he proposed that perhaps FEWA can take part in the EAC

Secretary Generals forum. It would be an opportunity to discuss with the EAC Secretary General

on what women entrepreneurs think is working or not. FEWA can also take part in the

development of a strategic plan on gender and development at the EAC to develop a policy on

Gender at the EAC.

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Questions from participants

How does one access information about tenders within the EAC?

Any information at the EAC is advertised in all the local dailies of all the partner states as well as

on the EAC website. The East African newspaper also has all these advertisements. The Ministry

of EAC, working closely with Export promotional council (EPC) also gives alerts on business

information and opportunities around the world. He urged participants to share this information

widely.

Is the information you have just discussed with us available on the EAC website?

Yes. We have been trying to reach the rural areas but it is not easy to reach all the 47 counties.

We want to do partnerships with counties to reach those in the remote areas. For instance in

Busia, we work with the governor to work with the Chamber of Commerce in these regions as

well as women and youth associations as they are our target.

What is the policy on Youth who wish to engage in cross border trade? What would you

advise youth representatives?

The State department on planning is the one coordinating youth affairs. It has information on

what the EAC is doing for the youth. The first EAC conference on policies affecting youth was

held by the National Youth Council and Africa youth Trust. The report will be officially

launched on the 4th

of Dec. The ultimate goal is to have an EAC Youth Council at the EAC

secretariat. He urged the youth in the room to review this document and share their

recommendations.

How can one facilitate the movements of vehicles from one country to another?

One can import vehicles using temporary permits and must produce all relevant documentation.

Most of the time when one wants to start a business they are asked for something. Are

there relevant authorities to report to when this happens?

The guidelines that I mentioned earlier will explain what the requirements for registration of

business are. In Busia and Namanga, there is an officer to address any problems. This is the

officer responsible for EAC affairs whose work is to make things easier for you.

Is the Kenya National Action Plan on security captured in the Protocol?

Issues of security are taken care of by the EAC and every country has its own Action Plan.

What is being done to simplify that document for the common person to understand how to

do business?

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Once the document is final, FEWA will be one of the mediums of sensitization. Although the

target is women, youth will be able to utilize this report.

Dissemination of information at the east African community is very limited. For example,

very few people know what we are doing in this forum. What can we do to disseminate

information so that many people are aware?

We are requesting FEWA to help in dissemination. We are also working closely with Trademark

East Africa. We are also removing the legal language and translating the guidelines in Kiswahili

and other languages where funding is available.

Why is there a Gender Directorate at the EAC level, but no full time Gender officer?

Gender directorate is provided for in the EAC Treaty. Position is shared within the member

countries and rotated on a quarter basis. The job still belongs to the Republic of Burundi until the

expiry period. Someone is being recruited specifically from that country.

Ms. Felicity thanked the speakers and presented gift hampers to Mr. Mugambi and Mr. Kahenyu.

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Inspiration talk on the Rights of Kenyan Women Entrepreneurs in Accessing Regional Supply and

Value Chains

Ms. Daisy Amdany

Not more than 2/3rds same gender principle.

Ms. Amdany stated that the Constitution provides for the 2/3rds gender principle under Article

81 that the electoral system must comply

with.

She went ahead to discuss on the

question of; Where are we right now on

the issue and why is it important for our

discussion today?

The Bill of rights recognizes the right to

equality and non-discrimination. The Bill

goes further to require that the State

ensures that in all elective and appointed

positions there cannot be more than 2/3rds

of the same gender.

She added that the Constitution requires

parliament to enact legislation that

promotes gender equality. She said that it is

unconscionable to marginalize half the country and expect development. Women constitute at

least 52 % of the population and so they have a right to equality of representation. Affirmative

action has ensured that in places where women have been nominated in places where they would

never have had the chance. This in turn breaks those negative cultural barriers that say that

women cannot lead.

She asked that we understand what it is we are challenging. She explained that we are

challenging the power structures. Politics affect business and business affects politics. The

business entrepreneurs are greatly invested in politics. As a woman, who wants to run for an

elected position, you must have funding to pay nomination fees as well as print posters without

which you have very little to no chance of succeeding. You therefore must understand how

politics affects you in order to determine your next leader who will bring your needs to the table.

An association like FEWA provides you that collective bargaining strength.

In challenging these power structures, she emphasized the need to challenge the

masculinity culture.

The culture that says Leadership (especially at the political and decision making level)

calls for strength, endurance, a degree of “machoness” read toughness, and group

solidarity. … asserting superiority over women…”

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She pointed out that private sector needs to challenge the status quo and mentioned that the civil

society has helped free up the democratic space we enjoy today. She reckoned that in as much as

the private sector commands a lot of respect in this country, even within the business

environment women are marginalized. She encouraged women to challenge this marginalization.

Women need to watch news, reads newspapers, engage with politics and to be aware of the

issues concerning them. If you do not challenge this marginalization, you are silently endorsing

it.

Ms. Amdany explained that the mechanism to adhere to the 2/3rds principle at the National

assembly, what is needed to secure a constitutional requirement is a minimum of 117 women in

parliament. However, the reality is that what we have now is 16 from constituencies + 47 from

the counties and 4 nominated=67 which is short by 50

At the Senate, what we have at the moment is 16 women nominated+1 youth female+1 disabled

female=18 meaning we would need 4 more to achieve the threshold of 23 as per the

constitutional requirements.

There was a proposed mechanism

NWSC and other stakeholders consulted widely on the possible mechanisms to secure the

principle and came up with a proposed formulas.

That all 290 constituencies be subjected to rotation by putting together 4 adjacent constituencies

and select one of them by lot to be reserved for a woman and any political party fielding a

candidate in the constituency or an independent candidate MUST be a woman. 290/4=72.5

round off to 72

This mechanism would assure the success of achieving the principle that not more than 2/3rds of

elective or appointive bodies (in this case parliament) are of the same gender

The would also make it easier for women to be more involved and included in political parties

and increases their visibility in the political arena and socialize communities to the idea of

women’s leadership

There were further proposals made to be incorporated into the Political Parties bill. The proposal

was to create incentives for political parties to include women by giving additional funds to

political parties that would ensure that women were elected on their party ticket (5%).

The proposal rejected

Although the mechanism for rotating constituencies found favor with the then IIEC and found its

way into the draft Elections Bill 2011, it was rejected by the Cabinet and MP’s citing the

unconstitutionality of the proposal.

The proposals for the political parties were rejected in total by parliament although the

requirement for not more than 2/3rds of the same gender was made a requirement within the

political parties.

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As a result, the Cabinet set up a Cabinet sub-committee to find a workable, constitutional and

acceptable solution to the problem. A way forward was suggested that the logical way to cure the

problem is for the Constitution to be amended accordingly to reflect the desired position, that

political parties be a part of the solution because they are expected to play a key role in ensuring

that the prescribed number of women and men are represented in the political arena and that they

be included in giving direction on this very important issue.

In discussing Women and the EAC, she laid down several points linking the gender rule to

EAC integration

Women constitute over 60 per cent of the EAC population and therefore must fully

participate in regional integration and be informed on all steps being undertaken by the

Community through policies, programs and projects aimed at enhancing the wellbeing of

the people of East African Community.

Women’s role in boosting social and economic development of the Community needs to

be enhanced through entrepreneurship and trade across the region.

As women in Kenya, we should be very concerned that we have not achieved the

minimum threshold for the representation of women in elective and appointive positions.

It is a right and constitutional principle not a gift

If Kenya cannot abide by its own constitution, what are the chances that it will abide by

regional requirements/commitments?

It is worth noting that Kenya remains the only country in the region that has not met the

minimum threshold for women’s representation in elective and appointive positions

What does the EAC Treaty say?

Under the Provisions of Articles 121 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African

Community, the Partner States undertake to enhance the Role of Women in Socio Economic

Development.

The Partner States recognize that Women make a significant contribution towards the process of

economic transformation and sustainable growth and that it is impossible to implement effective

programs for the economic and social development of the Partner States without the full

participation of Women.

Commitments from Partner States

She pointed out that partner States have committed themselves through appropriate legislative

and other measures to, among other things: promote the empowerment and effective integration

and participation of women at all levels of socio–economic development especially in decision-

making, abolish legislation and discourage customs that are discriminatory against women,

promote effective education awareness programs aimed at changing negative attitudes towards

women, create or adopt technologies which will ensure the stability of employment and

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professional progress for women workers; and take such other measures that shall eliminate

prejudices against women and promote the equality of the female gender with that of the male

gender in every respect.

Commitment to Women and Business in the EAC

She confirmed that Article 122 further provides for enhancement of the Role of Women in

Business where Partner States recognize the importance of women as a vital economic link

between agriculture, industry and trade. Partner States undertake to: (a) Increase the participation

of women in business at the policy formulation and implementation levels; (b) Promote special

programs for women in small, medium and large scale enterprises; (c) Eliminate all laws,

regulations and practices that hinder women’s access to financial assistance including credit; (d)

Initiate changes in educational and training strategies to enable women to improve their technical

and industrial employment levels through the acquisition of transferable skills offered by various

forms of vocational and on-the-job training schemes; and (e) Recognize and support the national

and regional associations of women in business established to promote the effective participation

of women in the trade and development activities of the Community.

She continued that Articles 127, 128 and 129 of the Treaty reflect the willingness of Partner

States to provide an enabling environment for the Private Sector and the Civil Society to take full

advantage of the Community.

She therefore commented that, conscious to the fact that as an important constituent of the Civil

Society, the role of Women has also to be viewed in the broader political context as captured in

several articles of the EAC Treaty

She reminded the participants that political will is very important. That what we are experiencing

in Kenya is a lack of political will. She provided the example that the Parliament seating has had

4 attempts to remove the provisions for women inclusion. She cautioned women that not being

part of a political party is also a problem among women. This is because you are not taking part

in the democratic process of choosing your leader.

Conclusion.

She concluded by stating that the challenge is much more than simply ensuring the presence of

more women in leadership and decision making. It is about bringing about an equitable society

by eliminating the systemic culture of the continued subordination of women and the deep-

rooted perception that leadership particularly in the public and political domain is reserved for

men and that the relationship is between men and government and not citizens and government,

despite their rights being guaranteed in the constitution. It is about women and men working

together in partnership to foster socio-economic development. It is about seeing the bigger

picture and learning to separate issues to work together for our betterment as women.

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She noted that the opportunities are many and we simply need to step up to the challenge. It is

not easy but it is achievable. We need to remember

“WE Makes ME Stronger”

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Questions

The chair for the Gender Commission is being impeached, what does that mean for the

2/3rds rule?

The appointment of the chair of the Commission is a presidential appointment and there must be

reasonable justification for her removal. In terms of 2/3rds principle, it is a principle grounded in

the Constitution and the State must abide by it.

Looking at women rights within the region, what can we do to ensure that the voices of

marginalized groups are heard?

Affirmative Action applies to Persons with disability youth, marginalized and minority groups.

Most often we do not always remember them. Although there is a council that represents persons

with disabilities, we must endeavor to include them when we are pushing the women agenda.

As a woman who agrees with affirmative action, what can I do to keep the momentum

going?

We just have to keep at it. We cannot afford to get tired. The baton has been passed to us and the

space has expanded. We have Constitutional frameworks and we must safeguard those gains. If

they are removed, we would remain in the negatives. We are almost there. We cannot give up.

The quality of women we have in Kenya is superb. Women who are aware and aggressive. We

will get there by joining forces and becoming members of the national steering committee. We

must target political will and with the voice of the private sector we can safely say we have our

mechanism.

A comment from a participant; I feel that in Kenya it comes out like women are begging for

space which they shouldn’t. I think our weakness is goodwill. In other countries it seems their

male counterparts have that good will. I attended a non-tariff barrier conference and the

consultant informed me that he planned and had meeting with the ministers in all the other

countries except Kenya where none of his appointments were honored.

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Introducing FEWA SACCO.

Ms. Julia Kibore, board member, FEWA

FEWA SACCO is the daughter of

FEWA. Out of the issues that women

have, whether cultural, financial,

marketing, capacity, we thought the

biggest challenge is access to finance.

Within the region, access to finance is our

strength in Kenya. FEWA SACCO was

formed for women by women. It is

almost 6 years old. We formulated the

idea and now it has come to fruition. She

introduced the C.E.O of FEWA SACCO.

Ewin Munene CEO, FEWA SACCO

He provided an introduction to FEWA

SACCO, that it is unique in the sense that it

includes networking. He mentioned that the

SACCO goes beyond saving and providing

loans to members, to networking. Our main

objective is to see women grow with our

mantra being the SACCO with a difference.

He encouraged women to join the SACCO and

concluded by saying that he is privileged to

work with women and for women.

Helen thanked everybody for their participation in the conference and urged them to attend the

MOWE Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony later on at 6.pm at the Mawingu Ballroom. The

participants were then invited for tea at the hotel cafeteria.

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REPORT PART TWO

FEWA PAN AFRICAN

GALA DINNER & AWARDS CEREMONY

HELD ON

25TH

NOVEMBER 2014

6.00 PM T0 11.00 PM

AT THE

NAIROBI SAFARI CLUB

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PROGRAM FOR THE GALA DINNER AND AWARDS CEREMONY

PROGRAM

6.00 pm – 7.00 pm ARRIVAL OF GUESTS AND REGISTRATION FEWA

7.00 pm - 7.15 pm Welcoming of Guests by Ms. Judy Kibore FEWA

7.15 pm – 7.30 pm Remarks by George Awalla, Head of Programmes, VSO Jitolee

7.30 pm – 7.45 pm Remarks by ILO WED ILO

7.45 pm – 8.00 pm Remarks by Ms. Katherine Ichoya- FEMCOM FEMCOM

8.00pm – 8.15 pm Remarks by Ms. Joanne Mwangi – Chairperson, FEWA FEWA

7.00 pm – 8.15 pm Dinner

8.15 pm – 9.35 pm Awards Ceremony

9.35 pm – 10.00 pm Presentation of Gift Hampers to Guests FEWA

10.00 – LATE Dinner and Networking

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Ms. Julia Kibore, Board member FEWA SACCO welcomed all the guests and thanked all present for

attending the dinner and award ceremony. She then called upon Mr. Awalla to say a few words

Remarks by George Awalla, Head of Programmes, VSO Jitolee

He was happy to be present as FEWA

celebrates the business woman. He reiterated

about the interests of VSO Jitolee as;

Increased body of knowledge on cross

border trade in East Africa, enhanced

implementation of sub regional trade

protocols as they relate to women and

marginalized groups on cross border trader

and strengthened voice and capacity of

civil society, and networks of women,

young people and PWDs in cross border

trade represent to represent the voice of

women; young people and other

marginalized groups in cross border trade

INTRODUCTIONS OF ILO TEAM.

Mr. Jealous Chirove, Chief Technical Advisor for the Youth Entrepreneurship, ILO Introduced

the ILO team present

Jane Maigua, National Programme Coordinator, WEDEE

Joni Simpson, ILO Global Coordinator WEDEE

Emmanuel Julien. Deputy Director, Entrepreneurship department

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Remarks by Ms. Katherine Ichoya- FEMCOM

Ms. Katherine acknowledged FEWA and in particular

the Chairperson Joanne Mwangi who made it possible

for this event to happen. She saluted all the other

organizations present.

She then reported that she had come with the

representation of the entire 19 member states of the

COMESA region with her.

She also confirmed and applauded Joanne Mwangi as

the new Chairperson of FEMCOM.

She revealed that the President of Malawi has given 10

acres of land to FEMCOM and that they will use this

piece of property to build FEMCOM offices.

She explained that in Kenya, FEMCOM is working

hard to promote SMEs to make sure that women can learn from each other.

She introduced some of the FEMCOM Country Representatives that she had come with to the dinner.

Chapter president FEMCOM Zimbabwe

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Chapter President FEMCOM Mauritius

Chapter President FEMCOM Madagascar

Sanyu Monica from Rwanda introduced herself and shared that the women from Rwanda are

interested in networking with women in Kenya.

Chairperson representing the Director FEMCOM, Comoros Islands

Helen called upon Joanne Mwangi, to open the ceremony.

Remarks by Ms. Joanne Mwangi –

Chairperson, FEWA

Joanne thanked everyone for coming to the

dinner celebrations. She thanked George Awalla,

Head of Programmes VSO Jitolee who

presented during the day and brought Il Ngwesi

women group. She also thanked ILO for being a

strong supporter of FEWA and USAID for

putting in structures and systems to help run

FEWA SACCO.

She emphasized that FEWA has a very clear

strategy with very SMART goals and

deliverable actions to upscale business in Kenya.

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She reiterated again about the plan to train FEWA members to grow their business.

She thanked Helen, the FEWA administrator for putting this event together and single handedly running

the day to day activities of FEWA. She applauded Helen’s commitment to FEWA and asked that such

leadership in young people be encouraged.

AWARDS CEREMONY

Ms. Helen Wanjiru conducted the Award

ceremony.

She reminded the participants that the

culmination of MOWE in Kenya is the award

ceremony.

1 WEF Financial Access Woman Award

Women Entrepreneurship Fund (WEF) an agency in the Ministry of Devolution and Planning,

which provides accessible and affordable credit to support women start and/or expand business

for wealth and employment creation as well as provision of business support services such as

capacity building, marketing, promotion of linkages and infrastructure support nominated three

women for the above award.

Martha Gathoni - Mutemakio (The group does table banking and has mobilized

members to form a Sacco in Eastlands. The members operate boutiques and salons in

Makadara and are servicing their 3rd

cycle loan of 200,000).

Salome Odeyo – Jiamini Unaweza Support Group (The group has 10 members, does

table banking and individual members are juakali artisans dealing with iron items at

Pangani shopping Centre. They are servicing their 3rd

cycle loan of Ksh. 200,000.

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Lydia Alfayo – Rugita Self Help Group (The 18 member group does investment in real

estate whereby they purchase plots in Ruai & Embakasi for group members. They are

engaged in selling 2nd

hand clothes at Gikomba market and are servicing their 5th

cycle of

Kes.500,000)

Lydia Alfayo (left) and Martha Gathoni (right) are presented with the WEF Financial Access

Woman Award by Mr. Hezbon Ngugi from WEF.

2 Green Business Award

Mercy Mwende Kinyua

She is the director of Sweet and Dried Enterprises, a cottage industry based in Tharaka-Nithi

County, Kenya. The enterprise has a keen interest on empowering the youth and women and

currently has employed seventeen (17) who work both at the factory and marketing of our

products. It has also engaged 245 small holder farmers as its suppliers which has created

employment and improved nutrition in the rural areas.

Green Business Award presented to Ms. Mercy Mwende Kinyua by Ms. Rita Ndonye

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3 Outstanding Woman Entrepreneurship Association Award

Kenya Association of Women in Tourism

This is a nonprofit association launched in November 2011. Their primary mandate is to

provide a platform for women’s empowerment through engagement, employment and

participation in the tourism industry.

They are open to all women in tourism and hospitality related organizations. They currently

have a membership of over 150 members and have launched county chapters in Nairobi,

Mombasa and Kilifi and have representation in Nakuru, Machakos, Kitui, Kiambu, Nyeri,

Meru, Samburu and Embu.

MOWE Outstanding Woman

Entrepreneurship Association

2014 Award presented to Kenya

Association of Women in Tourism

by Ms. Joanne Mwangi.

4 Male Gender Champion Award

Mr. Nelson Chege Kuria

He has a total of 31 years working experience most of which have been in the insurance industry.

He is a former member of the Board and the immediate past Chairman of the Association of

Kenya Insurers (AKI).

He is a trustee – Higher Education Loans Board Retirement Benefits Scheme, board Member-

Life Ministry Kenya. He has been honored -Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) in

2005 and Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) in 2011.

He has the interest of women empowerment at heart.

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5 Leadership and Governance Award

Ms. Titianne Donde

She is a career banker with extensive experience structuring deals and designing products for

SMEs in the agriculture, ICT, and manufacturing sectors. A competent team leader with

extensive knowledge in developing and implementing sustainable inclusive growth models,

value chain analysis, mapping and finance, agriculture and rural product development,

institutional strengthening and sectorial policy reform. She has technically assisted FEWA

SACCO to develop its management structures and has seen the SACCO grow in leaps and

bounds.

Leadership and Governance Award

presented to Ms. Titanne Donde by

Ms. Margaret Gitonga and Mr. Ewin

Munene.

6 FEWA SACCO Strong Supporter Award

Ms. Pauline Ndung’u

She is a lecturer in Political Science and International Relations at United States International

University -Nairobi. She is currently pursuing PhD in the same field. She has managed to

mobilize many members to join FEWA SACCO.

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Ms. Julia Kibore presents the FEWA SACCO Strong Supporter Award to Ms. Pauline Ndung’u.

7 Excellence in Innovation Award

Ms. Anne Nyakio Wainaina, Jumeira Safaris

Her company provides a unique service to its valued customers. They allow you to rent your

dream car in simply a smooth, hassle-free experience. They provide top quality luxury rental cars

in Kenya with unmatched levels of VIP service.

Their top clients include:

The Government of Kenya

State House

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Office of the Deputy President

Ministry of Finance (Treasury)

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8 2014 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award

Josephine Wausi and Deborah Itumbi, Wajuzi Restaurant Machakos County

They are two sisters who own THREE Wajuzi Restaurants in Machakos town. Their main focus

is always serving quality food at very pocket friendly prices believing this will in return bring

repeat business.

With them being very hands-on plus a dedicated team of 60 full time and 25 part time staff, they

have grown to three restaurants.

They have also ventured into outside catering where they cater for both private and public

events. Their future plan is to build a hotel that is very family oriented to encourage family

values

The Excellence in

Entrepreneurship Award

was given to both

Josephine Wausi and

Deborah Itumbi by Mrs.

Katherine Ichoya.

9 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award

Dr. Ruth Waweru

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Education, Masters in Business Administration, and

Doctor of Business Administration from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University South Africa.

For about 18 years, she has supported enterprises in Kenya and beyond such as Rwanda, Sudan,

Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana through business

development services.

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She serves on the board of Family Bank and

is current chairperson of strategy committee

and.

She is a director in Kenya Orients Life

Assurance Limited. She is the Founder

Director of Brookhurst International School

offering British curriculum and focusing on

the unique needs of children.

Ms. Julia Kibore presents Dr. Ruth Waweru with

the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award.

10 African Woman of the Year Award

Ms. Terry Mungai

She has been awarded a Presidential Award EBS “Elder of Burning Spear” in 2010 at the State House by

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya for contribution in youth empowerment and

putting Kenya on the Map through Miss World Kenya.

She won Kenya the coveted Beauty with purpose award in Miss World 2010 contested by over 130

Countries.

She owns Ashley’s Kenya Limited which has grown from one salon to an organization that houses eleven

beauty centers and has trained over 7,000 students of whom 95% are working for various Manufacturers

of Beauty and Hair Products.

She is the Franchise Director of Miss World Kenya Limited.

The African Woman of the Year Award was presented to Ms. Terry Mungai by Mr. Emmanuel Julien.

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The dinner ended with entertainment from Kayamba Africa

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VOTE OF THANKS

PARTNERS:

ILO International Labor Organization

VSO Jitolee Volunteer Service Overseas Jitolee

FEMCOM Federation of National Associations of Women in Business in Common

Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

MEACA Ministry of East African Community Affairs

ORGANIZERS:

FEWA FEDERATION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION

Telephone: +254) 704 420 034

Email: info@fewa.or.ke

Website: www.fewa.or.ke

Mbaazi avenue, off King’ara road, Nairobi.