Président de la Commission de l’Union Africaine (depuis le 1er. février 2008)
Président du Ghana,
Président de l’Union Africaine (depuis janvier 2007)
participation in the first Spanish African Women’s Encounter in Mozambique on 7-8 March 2006 and then the second Spanish African Women’s Encounter in Madrid on 7-8 March 2007.
The NEPAD Secretariat and the Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) have now entered into a cooperation which will see the Spanish Government support a Spanish-NEPAD Fund for the Economic Empowerment of the Women of Africa.
The fund aims to empower African women with financial resources to unlock their economic potential, fight poverty, create wealth and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), economic growth and sustainable development.
A Memorandum of Understanding on the fund was signed in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands on 12 June 2007 by Juan Pablo de la Iglesia, the Secretary-General of AECI, and Prof. Firmino G. Mucavele, the NEPAD Chief Executive.
Present to witness the signing ceremony, among others, were Ramón Gil-Casares Satrústegui, the Spanish Ambassador to South Africa, Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Advisor : Gender, Parliamentary Affairs and CSOs at the NEPAD Secretariat, Ricardo Martinez Vazquez, Director General : Cooperation with Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, as well Spanish Ambassadors accredited to various African countries.
The historic signing ceremony marks a new step forward in the economic empowerment of African women.
The objectives of the Spanish-NEPAD fund are to :
Mobilise financial resources for women entrepreneurs involved in handicrafts, textile production, agro-business/agro-processing, mining, trade and commerce and the service industry and to enlist their participation.
Set up a NEPAD Technical Team and activate a Joint NEPAD/Spanish Funds Committee to identify the institutions to work with in mobilising and providing resources to women in consultation with the NEPAD Gender Task Force, women’s organisations and networks at regional, sub-regional and national level.
Work with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), existing funds-granting institutions and national women’s platforms to implement the project through women’s networks, groups, communities and entrepreneurs, and to champion the creation of business linkages with the corporate private-sector supply chains.
Provide on-site institutional support to the NEPAD Secretariat to upscale the capacity of the NEPAD Gender, Parliamentary Affairs and CSOs Unit , led by Litha Musyimi-Ogana, to effectively facilitate the operations of the project and provide technical leadership.
Set up and operationalise regional business incubation centres and convene and facilitate regular forums for women entrepreneurs initially in Spain and later in Europe, US and Asia to showcase their products, look for marketing opportunities and develop ICT linkages between themselves and international markets and among themselves through local goods exchange marts.
Provide a platform for sharing unique experiences, lessons learnt and best practices arising from the economic empowerment of women and youth under the Spanish support.
Report half yearly to the NEPAD management and to the Spanish Embassy in Pretoria and submit a comprehensive narrative and financial annual report.
Monitor regularly and conduct a mid-evaluation after the first 18 months initially and every two years thereafter to assess the progress made in the implementation of the project. Source : NEPAD, june 22, 2007