This is disclosed during the training workshop hosted by Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, (AACCSA), the Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility, with the support of the European Union. According to experts, women play a crucial role in the Ethiopian economy, yet they continue to face a wide range of challenges such as deep-seated socio-cultural barriers, gender-based legal constraints, and limited access to critical resources like credit, land, and skilled labor among the few to site.
In order to address such challenges , AACCSA, as a key player in Ethiopia’s private sector development, is striving to promoting trade and investment in Ethiopia however it is said that AACCSAs services need to be tailored to the specific needs and realities of women entrepreneurs to respond to the diverse challenges facing women in business. With the theme “Improving AACCSA’s Services with a Gender Lens: Needs, Challenges, and Expectations to Better Serve Women Businesses”, discussants of the workshop shared their views and experiences while running their business.
It is also disclosed that the workshop is a critical step towards transforming AACCSAs services to businesses. Thus to carry out such services AACCSA with the project “Institutionalize Gender Mainstreaming and Strengthen Activities with a Gender-Lens View,” intends to systematically embed gender sensitivity into every aspect of AACCSA’s operations such as reassessing internal processes to ensure that policies and procedures promote inclusivity and equality. Such services are also expected to be designed to address challenges women entrepreneurs face. The workshop also aims to identify the gender gaps within AACCSA’s services that limit the participation of women-owned businesses, explore opportunities to better align our services with the expectations and needs of women entrepreneurs and to foster a dialogue on the challenges faced by women in business and explore practical solutions to overcome these challenges.
