Investing in women’s economic empowerment to achieve transformative and sustainable results in the lives of women and girls worldwide was the focus of discussions at the ACP-CTA-UN joint workshop held on the 27th – 28th of February, 2017 at the ACP House in Brussels, Belgium.

Samoa’s Ambassador to Europe and Chairperson of the ACP subcommittee on Investment and Private Sector, H.E. Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr Pa’olelei Luteru, chaired the opening and closing sessions of the forum. He emphasized the need for an integrated approach towards improving women’s economic empowerment given that despite global efforts in the area, women are still unable to access at least one per cent of financing available for economic activity due to factors such as the lack of skills, proper support networks and ownership of productive assets. “This forum provides an opportunity to address these issues under the pillars of the new Private Sector Development Strategy of the ACP Group, particularly in relation to improving the business climate and improving access to finance,” he said.

Samoa’s representative to the programme, Mrs Alberta Malielegaoi – Vitale, Associate Director of the Women in Business Development Inc. shared their experience and agribusiness initiatives that focus on engaging women and communities to connect to markets and improve their livelihoods.

Speakers of the event included the Secretary-General of the ACP Group, EU officials, representatives from regional and multilateral organizations, and women entrepreneurs from the ACP Member States.

The forum concluded with the signing of a Commitment to Action between the ACP Group of States and UN Women to support women’s economic empowerment initiatives. The workshop was organized as part of the ACP Group’s celebrations of International Women’s Day.