African Women's Entrepreneurship Program

African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) is an outreach, education, and engagement initiative that targets African women entrepreneurs to promote business growth, increase trade both regionally and to U.S. markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), create better business environments, and empower African women entrepreneurs to become voices of change in their communities.

The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women invests in women entrepreneurs by providing them with the skills, technology, networks, and access to finance that they need to become successful small business owners. In June 2012, The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women partnered with AWEP to offer mentors who provide business counsel and support via scheduled teleconferencing for 20 AWEP alumnae. The mentorship program is a year-long commitment by both parties and includes biweekly teleconferences. During these virtual meetings, partners develop several skills such as effective target-oriented business plans and marketing strategies.

Intel - The State Department and Intel have created a partnership focusing on entrepreneurial and digital literacy training for women in AWEP chapters. Through this collaboration, the State Department will facilitate implementation of the Intel® Easy Steps program as part of its strategy around women’s empowerment and economic development. The initiative provides adult women learners training to improve social and economic self-sufficiency through digital literacy. Specifically, Intel is working with participating AWEP chapters and their affiliated Community Business Organizations to conduct a “train-the-trainer” program, developing the capacity of AWEP chapter staff to deliver the Intel Easy Steps program to local women. These efforts will expand opportunities for women to acquire digital literacy skills and increase their ability to use technology in the startup and operation of a small business.

Vital Voices - The partnership between the State Department and Vital Voices will highlight AWEP as a model for other results-oriented, SME-focused public-private partnerships. Specifically, this Vital Voices program identifies high-potential, women-led businesses throughout sub-Saharan Africa and provides a robust program of leadership and enterprise development support to help the businesses thrive, in part due to increased integration into local and global supply chains. To this end, the Vital Voices training program partners with AWEP alumnae to strengthen their own businesses, expand revenues, generate high-value jobs, foster innovation, and contribute to the kind of broad-based sustainable economic growth that improves the quality of life for families throughout the region.