International Trade Forum

Letter From the International Trade Centre

Inbox

Trading Under Duress

Poverty and severely limited means of generating income force many internally displaced women into abusive trades such as prostitution and trafficking. In internally displaced people camps in Uganda, for example, many girls and women engage in survival sex to obtain food or "transactional sex" in exchange for spending money or small objects. These women are given no opportunities to further their education, engage in businesses or develop self-respect. Women for Women International works to h...

Treasure From Trash: The Last Straw?

In India, Management Skills Become Innovative Assets

Traditionally, lenders wouldn't dare offer credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without financial collateral. But since a major Indian bank began doing just that in 2007, the results have been staggering. In just over a year, they have enhanced opportunities for small businesses, women and entire communities. But despite their value in the economy, banks have traditionally been reluctant to loan to SMEs, based on the perception that they present higher risks. Add to that the di...

Success Through Shea

The women of western Africa have been using shea nut butter for centuries to protect their skin from dry Saharan winds. Through innovative enterprise, its now protecting them in other ways, too. A similar program in Mali, supported by ITC, is also demonstrating the potential for export to improve the situation of women in developing countries. Shea butter production is the focus of one of several programs recently implemented by ITC to assist women in Mali in developing their entrepreneurial ...

Buying From Africa for Africa

More than half of the annual aid procurement market, worth an estimated $10 billion, is destined for Africa. Supporting African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including businesses owned by women, to access this market has enormous potential for economic growth and development. Africa has a competitive and dynamic private sector, which is able to supply products and services of quality. However, aid agencies often lack the time and resources to identify new local sources of supply ...

'Engendering' Uganda's National Export Strategy

Uganda has enjoyed strong annual growth in exports in recent years and has made progress in diversifying its export base. However, much needs to be done if it is to realize by 2012 its National Export Strategy targets of increasing annual revenue to $5 billion per year (from around $1.8 billion), achieving a 16% contribution to gross domestic product and raising the per capita export ratio to $200 (from $82). A simple vision was articulated: "a dynamic and competitive export sector with more ...

Advising Policy, Alleviating Poverty

In the current economic climate, forward movements in market access and trade capacity building for developing countries can seem unlikely. Women Thrive Worldwide is a non-profit organization focused on making US policies foster economic opportunity for women living in poverty. In this unique trade environment, Women Thrive advises policymakers in the US on how preferences help women in developing countries and their economies as a whole, while having positive impacts on the US economy. Incre...

Building Bridges, Building Business

By fostering economic competitiveness, the Arab International Womens Forum (AIWF) supports sustainable human development and the empowerment of women. Founded in 2001 to serve as a voice for Arab women the organization showcases their development promotes cross-cultural diversity and creates greater public awareness of women's success and prospects. By building bridges of understanding and business opportunities between governments, corporations and civil society, the AIWF helps to enhance th...

Networks to Build Leadership in Trade

The Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) operates at a global level to help women do business locally and internationally. OWIT chapters around the world bring women together to form a powerful network that helps them to grow personally and professionally as leaders in business. Its Web site, www.owit.org, provides a networking forum for its members in international trade, a job bank, a speaker's bureau and many other services. OWIT helps women to develop direct business opport...

Lifting Liberia, Lifting the World

Coming Up

Un Resources: Women in the Global Economy

Directory

Business Talk

Good Business - the Potential of Women-Owned Enterprises

The contribution that women business owners can make to the growth of the global economy was recognized at the ITC's World Export Development Forum in 2008. The event included a panel on the business case for why corporations and governments should increase the level of participation of women-owned businesses in their supply chains. WEConnect International is leading the strategy for unleashing the economic potential of women business owners through certification and market access. This initi...

Policy Pages

The Human Right to Economic Equality

By adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec 10, 1948, the relatively small UN family of 56 states concretized their belief in the "equal rights of men and women." But despite the charter's noble commitment to upholding the inherent dignity of every human being, the UN General Assembly noticed that women continued to lag behind men in their enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights. This realization led the UN in 1979 to adopt the Convention on the El...

World View: News Brief

Itc's Annual Meeting Discusses the Role of Trade in Achieving Mdgs

Financial Crisis Facility to Deliver $2 Billion

Doha Declaration Urges Sustained Commitment to International Aid

Call for Fair Play in the Cotton Industry

World View O&A

World's Poorest Countries Integrating Trade and Development Policy

In an interview, Dorothy Tembo, executive director of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Secretariat, reflects on women's changing involvement in trade. She said that she sees the formation of women trade and business organizations, taking a lead on advocacy of issues of interest to women in trade and engaging policymakers. She noted that the last two years the Government has been working on a Citizens' Economic Empowerment Scheme, which includes specific resource allocations for women a...

Feature

Strong Women, Strong World

Women are stepping forward as never before. They are becoming leaders, financial managers, business strategists, risk-takers and entrepreneurs. Canadian business and government are embracing this involvement, with an understanding that women and women-led businesses are an increasingly potent global economic force. Canada is a world leader in the area of women's entrepreneurship. A recent study showed that Canadian women are among the most entrepreneurial of all Organization for Economic Co-o...

Trade Policy Cambodia

Despite gender equality being recognized as a legitimate goal for humanity and stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals, progress is still slow, with gender norms and perceptions proving a challenge in many countries, including Cambodia. Trade, undoubtedly an important aspect of globalization, has notable impact on growth, employment and business opportunities, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. It influences income distribution between men and women, a...

Trade Trends

Women in Coffee

On the family-owned coffee plots that produce most of Africa's coffee, it is usually women who undertake the majority of maintenance and harvesting work. Here, and in other coffee-producing areas around the world, their contribution is vital. In October 2008, ITC arranged to send two female Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA) employees to Costa Rica for the first truly international conference for women in coffee. Women in Coffee, a leading information sharing and training organi...

Trade Trends: Accessing Export

Accessing Export, Accessing Opportunity

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by women seeking trade support services in Africa, ITC developed the ACCESS! program in 2005 with the goal of providing greater participation of African business-women in international trade. Following the success of six training workshops that reached more than 60 business-women, ACCESS! Tunisia has already extended its core training and business counseling activities and developed targeted microcredit support for its clients. This pilot project allowe...

Directory

Networking for Women's Leadership

The past months have been a turbulent time. Markets have collapsed around the world and people are left with huge economic uncertainties. By gathering women to share inspiration and knowledge, meet potential clients and find solutions to big and small challenges, Women's International Networking (WIN) is developing ways to navigate through these uncertain times. Over the past ten years, almost 6,000 women from 70 nations have gathered at WIN's global leadership forum to discuss leadership of ...