BUJUMBURA March 10th (ABP) – The Minister of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender, Mrs. Imelda Sabushimike, opened on Thursday, March 7, in Bujumbura, the launching activities of the Business Academy of the Women’s Network of Team Europe, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In his speech, Minister Sabushimike indicated that in collaboration with the countries of Team Europe, the government of Burundi is firmly committed to promoting the economic empowerment of women, specifying that they recognize the unique place of women and their invaluable contribution to meeting current and future challenges.
In addition, she indicated, Burundian women are the first contributors to achieving the vision of an emerging Burundi in 2040 and developed in 2060, which aims to “improve the living conditions of the population and reduction of inequalities.
On that development trajectory, the purpose of the said vision is to make Burundi a nation characterized by a sustained increase in production and structural changes leading to an increase in life expectancy and longevity, the satisfaction of basic needs, the reduction of inequalities, unemployment and poverty in all its dimensions.
In fact, the Minister in charge of Gender also indicated that that women’s network will contribute to achieving that vision, especially since their projects will benefit from funding from the Europe team. According to her, to achieve sustainable development, “we must get into the habit of working in synergy, exchanging and sharing information or learning.”
Regarding the axis of social protection, Mrs. Sabushimike urged the women of the Europe team to support the various social protection programs, the establishment of the single social register and the joint project with the ministry in charge of public health in relation to universal health insurance coverage for all.
Starting from that network of women from the Europe team, that personality highlighted that there is an information exchange network of 50 million African women, which is a digital platform available in the form of a mobile application, via the internet, and on mobile devices and which aims to empower millions of African women to start and grow their businesses by providing them with a one-stop shop for their specific information needs. She hoped that that network of women from the Europe team would help to enlighten everyone on the invaluable role of women in national development.
For her part, the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Burundi, Mrs. Elisabeta Pietrobon, specified that the Business Academy is an initiative that underlines the commitment of the Europe team to support, training and financial empowerment of women entrepreneurs. That academy will offer support to women project leaders whose themes are linked to the programs of the Europe team in Burundi.
Women are essential actors in the economy in Burundi as elsewhere in the world, she recognized, meaning that investing in their economic empowerment is the path to gender equality, the eradication of poverty and an inclusive emergence. Furthermore, women’s empowerment should not only be a matter for women, she said, explaining that real commitment from men is needed for complete and lasting parity. According to her, gender must be an essential component of their political dialogue and their civil society roadmap. 85% of the action of that development team must be gender sensitive in all areas, she estimated. She cited some initiatives funded by the EU and its member states for Burundian women, notably the project called ENTREF, which made it possible to support 1,347 women producers and 262 micro-entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sectors, the creation of the Help Desk Gender and the launch of the National Observatory against GBV which will take place next week. She encouraged five women who were selected under that initiative. They received certificates for a three-day training course to support their new projects.
Note that the Europe team is made up of the EU and countries such as Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.