Rabat, 16 October 2024 (ECA) – The ECA Office for North Africa initiated today in Rabat (Morocco) a four-day capacity building workshop for the benefit of women-led SMEs. This workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to improve their capacity to access export markets within the framework of the AfCFTA, strengthen their digital capacities and adopt sustainable and climate-resilient practices.
“The African market is currently very fragmented, which means that African enterprises are missing many opportunities. We believe that there can be significant opportunities for women-led enterprises to gain market shares and contribute to employment both in Morocco and across the continent,” said Adam Elhiraika, Director of the ECA Office for North Africa.
“This workshop aims to strengthen women entrepreneurs’ capacity to work in a digital environment and provide them with technical tools so they can access and compete in international markets. This is also an opportunity for us to advocate for women-led enterprises to be granted greater financial inclusion and appropriate technical support so they can make their way into the industrial sector, digitalization, innovation and the markets of tomorrow such as sustainable development and agriculture or green energy” said Ouafae Alaoui, Chair of the Association of Women Business Leaders of Morocco (AFEM) for the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region, who expressed hope for the creation of a business incubator for women-led SMEs to help them make the most of the opportunities provided by the AfCFTA.
Women led enterprises in North Africa have a greater difficulty securing funding than their men-led equivalents. Their digital competencies also tend to be lower. These deficiencies tend to have a negative impact on their competitiveness and growth potential. In addition, climate change is also having a growing negative impact on SMEs across the subregion.
This workshop is part of a series of training courses implemented by the ECA office for North Africa within the framework of its SME support program for a sustainable development in North Africa. This project aims to help improve the resilience of SMEs led by Libyan, Mauritanian and Moroccan women entrepreneurs in accordance with SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure).