2 AU / CIEFFA CAPACITY BUILDING TRAINING: PROGRAM TO ADVANCE GIRLS' EDUCATION IN AFRICA

It is day two of the Alumni training to advance girls' education in Africa. We are getting ready for an two amazing and interactive sessions on community engagement and resource mobilization, and another one on digital literacy.

The online training is being held from 4-6 November 2020. The training coveres Digital literacy, Digital Advocacy, Resources mobilization and Community engagement, Financial literacy and AU/CIEFFA ongoing programs. 

Link to campaign:

http://cieffa.org/africaeducatesher/

Link to signup form and pledge: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hGOHt-E0TDUBT_oNswL1I34ynB1FtLZLsq_m3HjEnDY/edit

While women and men are constrained in a number of areas by similar factors, women are often disproportionately impacted by gender-specific barriers and are affected more than men due to informal social and cultural norms, unconscious bias and educational disparities.

There is much excitement about the potential of the AfCFTA. The successful implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement could advance gender equality by increasing economic opportunities and entrepreneurship for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including through boosting the demand for manufactured goods. Women-owned businesses benefit from economies of scale access to a population expected to grow from1.3 billion in 2020 to 2.75 billion, by 2060 – with more than 42 per cent expected to be middle class (Muchanga A. 2020).

The AfCFTA promotes entrepreneurship and economic empowerment opportunities for women-owned businesses through increased access to new regional export markets; opportunities to integrate into regional value chains; and expanded opportunities across all sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and services which are expected to gain new trade opportunities through the AfCFTA. There is also much interest in learning more about the AfCFTA Agreement, particularly about how Governments should leverage provisions in the AfCFTA Agreement to empower women in their various economic roles to overcome trade-related barriers, in order to enable their equal participation in new trade, economic and business opportunities in the AfCFTA.