By: Comoros, Ethiopia, Angola, South Africa and Rwanda

The Economic Commission for Africa is proud of the work the body has completed thus far. The body believes that the empowerment of women in entrepreneurship is of high importance. To address the multitude of factors that contribute to this topic, the body is working on making recommendations for action to ECOSOC on gender inequality, education, infrastructure, governance and funding.

Education plays an imperative role in women’s empowerment and in building the skills necessary for women to succeed in entrepreneurship. The body advocates for educational programs that teach financial literacy, negotiation skills, and that receive input from experienced female entrepreneurs from diverse African backgrounds. Additionally, the body advocates for civic skills education and STEM education. The body acknowledges barriers to education, including lack of childcare. Therefore, the body advocates for accessible childcare for student mothers.

South Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda have been working on the importance of institutional factors to ensure women can access school and work. Long term benefits of the access to water, electricity, internet access and safe transportation allows for more girls and women to enter schools and join the working force. It is of utmost importance that these resources are reliable and safe. Their reliability prevents girls and women from skipping or dropping out of school and work due to poor quality infrastructural facilities. 

The infrastructure bloc has been discussing the importance of reevaluating SDG 5, 6 and 9 to ensure that they are achievable for all nations. The body has also been discussing the importance of internet access and transportation, as well as other infrastructure to help women gain further access to the economic and entrepreneurship world. Also, access to clean water and efficient irrigation systems will allow women to have time available to explore different economic avenues.

The financial bloc has been working hard to promote the usage of microloans as a way to get female entrepreneurs started in their business. We have also looked at ways to help provide larger loans for female entrepreneurs to continue to grow. We firmly believe in the role of women not only in the business sector, but also in government and STEM related fields and that it is important to show representation.

The ECA looks forward to continued discussion on women’s empowerment in entrepreneurship.

_{The views and opinions expressed in this article were part of simulation of the United Nations held from 18 to 21 November 2023 and do not reflect the views and opinions of the American Model United Nations Conference, American Model United Nations International, LLC. or the governing bodies of the states mentioned in the article.}