The Ethiopian Women Exporters’ Association (EWEA) held a trade fair in Hargeisa for the first time as part of a series of exhibitions planned for Ethiopia, Somaliland and Djibouti to promote regional trade and cooperation.
The entity, which was set up to foster cooperation relations between Somaliland and Ethiopia, attracted the participation of the government of Somaliland, business community and a throng of very enthusiastic visitors to the fair.
The advance delegation which prepared the ground for the fair, without whom the beautiful scenes of the morning would not have been possible, was led by Ms Workaferahu Kidane, project officer for EWEA. They were assisted enormously by Mr. Tekela of the Ethiopian Embassy here in Hargeisa.
At the opening ceremony, the Somaliland Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Commerce and the Somaliland Chamber of Commerce were all well represented by their DGs – Mohamed Hassan Saeed and Mohamed Sheikh Ismail, respectively and the Secretary General of the Chamber, Ibrahim Ismail Elmi.
All the keynote speakers equally emphasized the importance of the fair to the region and the lion’s role Dhabshiil Group played in helping the organizers make the fair a reality.
The General Manager of Somaliland National TV, Khadar Ali Gass, was at the event, too.
Ahmed Dool, representing the Group at the podium, spoke at length of the merits of the recently inaugurated eDahab mobile money transfer as well as the business presence of the company around the world, and specifically in the Horn of Africa, foremost of which was Ethiopia. Saad Musa of Remittance, Hodan Ali of Dahabshiil Bank International, Mustafa Husein of Somtel telecommunications were among the high ranking officers attending the event on behalf of Dahabshiil.
Dahabshiil remittance is a partner of ENAT Bank that sponsors EWEA along with over a dozen more banks in Ethiopia including all the big names in the sector.
Ms. Hadia M Gondji, founder of ENAT Bank who heads the Ethiopian businesswomen spoke very highly of Dahabshiil and the high hopes she had of marking this event as a beginning for many more to come in the future in order to cement a lasting relationship on all sectors between the two sisterly countries.
The Ethiopian Women Exporters’ Association (EWEA) is an organisation of export-oriented businesswomen based in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. EWEA aims to empower businesswomen in Ethiopia by encouraging them to establish and maintain their own businesses. The 52-member association draws from five main sectors: flowers, coffee, leather, textiles and jewellery/ handicrafts. EWEA member companies include small and middle-sized enterprises that are usually based on fair trade and social principles. The association hopes to break with tradition and help women play a central role in Ethiopia’s fast growing economy by engaging in export activities. Somaliland is a potential market since the produce of EWEA members are in high demand.
– Somalilandpress
