Source: IPP Media
Tanzania last week launched African Women's Entrepreneurship Programme ( (AWEP) Tanzania chapter in Dar Es Salaam geared at accelerating and beefing up business oriented investments between Tanzania investors and their partners world-wide. The launching event was attended by various invitees from within and outside the country was inaugurated by among other events speeches by the Tanzania Ministry for Industry and Trade.

Dr.Abdallah Kigoda and the USA Ambassador to Tanzania, Alfonso E. Lenhardt in the presence of other AWEP Chapter representatives in the African Continent.

"Let me on behalf of the government of the Tanzanian government express our immense gratitude to the US government for launching the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP) Minister Kigoda said at the very outset of his launching speech of the Tanzania AWEP Chapter.

The Minister said " It is our hope that AWEP will work with Governments to improve business opportunities for women so as to help African business women grow their enterprises and expand women's business networks and build export-ready businesses."

He also thanked the US Ambassador in Tanzania for what he referred to as "...his tireless efforts in supporting Tanzanian business community in reaping the benefits of AGOA and USA market in general."

Quoting US former president Bush's speech when addressing the first U.S-Sub-Saharan African Trade Forum that was held in Washington in October 2001 on the importance of opening up markets, the minister said, " No nation in our time has entered the fast track of development without first opening up its economy to world markets.

The African Growth Opportunity Act is a road map for how the US and Africa can tap the power of markets to improve the lives of our citizens."

Minister Kigoda said "Although our performance in AGOA has not been satisfactory compared to countries like Kenya, in the past few years the trend has improved as we have managed to record modest increase in our export under AGOA
He said in 2010 Tanzania exports under AGOA was US $2.12million which increased to US 11.85million in 2012" adding, "however as a nation we need to do more for the country to benefit fully from the facility."

He said one of the constraints to enterprise growth was lack of finance especially to small and medium enterprises specifying that in most of developing countries credit to SMEs is not adequate.

The minister expressed his optimism that the launching of AWEP Tanzania Chapter will accelerate women's vision for enhancing trade and investment within the African continent and the US under AGOA arrangement while challenging the newly registered AWEP Tanzania Chapter to drive AWEP to greater heights
In his remarks the US Ambassador to Tanzania, Alfonso E.Lenhardt thanked the AWEP Tanzania Chapter Chairperson Flotea Massawe and the Board of the African Women's Enterpreneurship for job well done.

He said the African Women's Entrepreneurship programme was launched by the US State Department in July 2010 and that the programme identifies and builds networks of women entrepreneurs across Sub-Saharan Africa aimed at transforming their societies by owning and operating small and medium size businesses and by becoming the voice for social advocacy in their communities supporting economic

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