ENHANCING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE AGRO FOOD SECURITY INDUSTRY IN ETHIOPIA that will be held on 15th October 2015 at “ME and WE – Women for Expo” space (North-West Cardo,1st floor) in EXPO Milano 2015.

Bringing together themes regarding the potential of the agro food sector in Ethiopia and the aim of creating inclusive and sustainable industrial development, the event will debate stories of successful women who could overcome the key obstacles that usually prevent them from becoming entrepreneurs.

In particular, the issues which will be discussed are access to finance, technology in food security, the lack of policy guidelines to reduce gender inequality in the private sector, the poor data collection of local enterprises, and the lack of skilled staff.

These topics are crucial to foster the socio-economic development of the country, create more jobs and contribute to diversification of the economy. Furthermore, it is important to consider that women tend to have a smaller ecological footprint than men because their production and consumption patterns are often more resource-efficient. These matters are of primary importance for the promotion of sustainable development in Ethiopia. 

PRESENTATION AGENDA:

Moderation by Matteo Landi, UNIDO Industrial Development and Youth Employment Expert

11:00 Welcoming remarks by Monica Carco’, Chief, Investment and Technology Unit, UNIDO 

11:10 Video presentation: “Role of Women in Food Security sector in Ethiopia” 

11:20 Highlights of the report: “WOMEN: adding value to value chains” by Rossella Belli, Gender Expert, Italian Development Cooperation 

11:30 Testimonies from Ethiopian women entrepreneurs:

• Almaz Ayele – Poultry;

• Muluemebet Gebeyehu Fentie – Honey;

• Emebet Mekonnen – Dairy processing;

• Yordanos Goushe Girmay – Cosmetics from oil crops;

• Sara Yirga Woldegerima – Coffee;