Uniterra Sector program officer, Awudu Zakaria giving a presentation
The Uniterra International Seminar, a global international event, will this year be held in Ghana for the fourth time since its inception in 1946.
The event, which is expected to commence from October 14-27, 2018, will bring together ten Ghanaian and ten Canadian entrepreneurs, and will focus on providing a cross-cultural learning experience for female entrepreneurs, under the theme ‘Women in Entrepreneur’.
Speaking in an interview at the media launch of the 72nd Uniterra International Seminar in Accra, Madam Clara Nyarkoah Anim, Country Director, Uniterra, expressed the opinion that women are the driving force behind economic development, hence the program.
She added that women have a critical role to play in fulfilling the government’s ambition of making Ghana free from international aid.
“Women are often marginalised as entrepreneurs, globally, so I think it’s an excellent opportunity to shine some light on some amazing entrepreneurs.
“We aim to work on empowering women economically, and we see a great value in providing a platform for discussions and best practices, with cross-cultural twist,” she said.
According to her, women face some unusual challenges at workplaces, and added that, the program will bring some successful women entrepreneurs to mentor the participants.
“Issues facing women in their businesses are different from the general ones. When it comes to operational management, a woman is seen to be bossy when she’s vocal and very strong [in decisions making].
“This program is not the normal program that we have on entrepreneurship. There’s some continuity with this program where we connect these people (participants) to mentors who can give them ideas and provide supports to their businesses,” she told the paper.
She however disclosed to the paper that participants were thoroughly screened in order to ensure that they select the best ones.
“Participants have already been selected and it was a thorough process. We just didn’t want it to look like the normal thing. We advertised and they applied and were made to preach their business to our outside partners, the NBC Africa,” she said.
The program, which is funded by the Global Affairs Canada, and the Canadian Government seeks to draw representatives from the ministries of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, as well as Business Development.
About the Uniterra program
Uniterra is a leading Canadian international volunteer corporation and development programs that is jointly operated by the World University Service of Canada and the Centre for International Studies, Canada.
The purpose of the program is to improve the socio economic conditions of the world’s women and youth populations through better access to employment and income generation opportunities.
