BUJUMBURA March 15th (ABP) – The Europe Team (EU, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland) officially launched on Tuesday March 14, 2023 its first Network of Burundian women from its funded programs in Burundi, in the presence of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender, Mr. Pontien Hatungimana and the Heads of Mission of the Europe Team. The launch of that Network was placed under the main theme of women’s economic empowerment, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
That Network, which aims to be national and sustainable, will be hosted throughout the year through times of experience sharing between women, training and opportunities for setting up projects. The Network is expected to grow each year with new women project leaders and women-godmothers.
Aware of the place and the central role that women play in the social and economic development of Burundi, the Europe Team will remain alongside Burundian women, specifies the European Union through a press release.
Through its programs, the Europe Team acts in particular to strengthen the entrepreneurial and technical capacities of individual and collective women’s businesses, improve access to financing, fight against gender-based violence, inclusion and free health care for pregnant women.
The Europe Team plans to enhance its commitment to the financial empowerment of Burundian women by bringing together eleven women, of different profiles, initiators of mini-projects and women-godmothers who have already demonstrated success in financial and entrepreneurial empowerment activities, says the EU.
The Ambassador of the European Union to Burundi, Mr. Claude Bochu, also pointed out that women are essential to the economy of Burundi, whether in companies, in markets, in cooperatives (such as business leaders or employees), or through their work at home or in the fields. Investing in women’s economic empowerment is the surest path to gender equality and poverty eradication, he said.
As early as 1957, through the Treaty of Rome, he continued to say, the European Union seized on that subject by including equality between women and men among its fundamental values. The EU Ambassador nevertheless notes that despite progress, there is still a long way to go to achieve effective gender equality.
The Government of Burundi is committed alongside the countries of Europe Team to the economic empowerment of women and recognizes their place and their unique contribution to meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow. According to Mr. Hatungimana, the launch of that Network is also an opportunity to recall that, despite the many advances, Burundian women still face various barriers that limit their entrepreneurial achievement.
The promotion of female entrepreneurship, which aims for economic development, can contribute to poverty reduction and inequalities between men and women,” he said.