US Ambassador launches second training for Ugandan women entrepreneurs

The second cohort of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) was opened on August 21 at the American Centre in Kampala by Natalie E. Brown, the United States Ambassador to Uganda.

About 300 female Ugandan entrepreneurs will be given with the tools they need to start and expand their own firms, raise financing, and successfully network with other successful company owners throughout the eight-month course.

“Women and girls must be able to fully engage in their communities socially, economically, and politically for societies to prosper, since investing in women’s economic empowerment is a direct road to gender equality, poverty eradication, and inclusive economic growth,” said Amb. Brown.

Uganda is one of more than 80 nations participating in the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs, which was founded in 2019 to promote and magnify the economic achievements of women throughout the world.

The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs is also active in Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in Sub-Saharan Africa. To promote small company development and success, the program provides educational tools for women entrepreneurs through supervised training and participation from local business leaders. It also equips female entrepreneurs with the knowledge, resources, and connections they need to launch and grow successful enterprises.

The curriculum is based on the DreamBuilder course, an online platform established by the Thunderbird School of Worldwide Management at Arizona State University and Freeport-McMoRan, a global copper mining business.

In collaboration with the Network of Women in Agribusiness and Development (NoWAD), iProfile Foundation, NSSF, Stanbic Business Incubator, and Pooja Chandra Pama, Private AWE Donor and Founder/President of ACE Health Foundation, the second cohort is being implemented in Kampala, Gulu, Soroti, Mbale, and Mbarara.

Since the program’s inception, 150 women have graduated from the US Mission in Uganda.