Lilongwe – The U.S. Embassy has awarded a USD $37,000.00 (MWK28 million) grant to Mhub to implement the first ever Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program in Malawi. 60 female entrepreneurs have been selected nationwide, 20 from each region, to receive two-months long facilitated lessons on business management and network with like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors in Malawi and the United States.
Acting Chief of Mission Jeremey Neitzke, officially launched the program, stating “Women comprise over 50 percent of Malawi’s population yet most of them are not economically empowered. By lifting barriers that limit access to economic opportunities, AWE aims to promote women’s advancement through providing resources and training to achieve their full potential as entrepreneurs. The tools for successful entrepreneurs will be more important than ever in a post-COVID world as the program will support women in a recovering economy.”
AWE is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) as part of the White House-led Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative which aims to empower 50 million women worldwide by 2025 to fulfill their economic potential, with the goal of creating conditions for increased stability, security, and prosperity for all.
Currently implemented in more than 50 countries, AWE equips women with the practical skills needed to create sustainable businesses and enterprises. Women participating in AWE will have access to DreamBuilder, an online course on women’s entrepreneurship developed through a partnership between Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and global copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan.
This launch will coincide with Women’s Entrepreneurship Day which takes place November 19 every year, and which fall inside Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which kicks off on November 16. Since 2018 GEW has fostered the spirit of entrepreneurship globally, with millions of participants at thousands of events in now more than 170 countries. GEW aims to celebrate self-starting innovators and connect entrepreneurs to potential collaborators, mentors, and investors.
For more information visit: eca.state.gov/awe