S2 | Ep1 TRAILER: "Launch of the #SheTrades Outlook Tool" with Vanessa Erogbogbo
Full episode on this site - see dashboard On the 7th July 2020, the International Trade Centre, a division of the World Trade Organisation launched SheTrades Outlook, a digital tool that allows governments and others to track progress on gender equality in trade, and progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 to empower all women and girls. In 2019, the World Bank Group released a report that stated that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world, with approximately 42 percent of the non-agricultural labour force classified as self-employed or employers. Africa is also home to the world’s future. 19 of the top 20 youngest countries in the world are African. So, a focus on Africa’s women and girls are of paramount importance, not just for Africa, but to the world. Simply put, without Africa, the world has almost no future. UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, said at the launch of the UK funded tool “Africa has the highest concentration of female entrepreneurs in the world, but many have not yet realised their full potential.” The project aims to increase the competitiveness of women-owned businesses in international trade, by improving the policy environment. According to the innovative digital tool, South Africa, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Samoa are among the countries that have designed leading policies that boost women's economic empowerment. In Africa, that is only 3 of 55 African states that assemble under the African Union. So, this is the first indication that we have much work to do on the continent as PABWA. The SheTrades Outlook provides quantitative and qualitative data using 83 indicators across six policy areas. It contains more than 50 good-practice examples to spur policymakers worldwide to introduce and reform policies that support women in trade. These include Bangladesh's use of digital technologies to empower entrepreneurship for rural women, Canada's gender-based analysis of trade agreements, and Lesotho's grants to support women in the creative industries. ITC's acting Executive Director, Ma’am Dorothy Tembo, said: 'With the SheTrades Outlook, ITC is contributing to making big data work for inclusive trade. The tool helps overcome a long-standing barrier to making trade policies work for women - the lack of quality data.' SheTrades Outlook is based on women-in-trade data − 80% of which has never been collected before - from more than 500 government institutions and private sector organizations. The tool is set to be rolled out globally after launching with coverage of 25 countries. The first tool of its kind to make trade possible for women by promoting a more inclusive policy ecosystem. It provides comprehensive data and analysis on trade and women’s economic empowerment, and shares experiences from around the world. Today, my guest is no stranger to PABWA audiences. She is a disruptor and a game changer on any given day. Founder of She Trades and Chief of Inclusive Value Chains at the ITC - the dynamic and astute Vanessa Erogbogbo.
