{"id":7269,"date":"2023-07-28T17:07:31","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T17:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationaldiplomat.com\/?p=7269"},"modified":"2023-07-28T17:07:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T17:07:31","slug":"women-entrepreneurs-explain-how-to-do-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/12h71.com\/?p=7269","title":{"rendered":"Women Entrepreneurs Explain How to Do Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Trade Centre (ITC) <\/span><\/span>in Geneva<\/span><\/span>\u00a0has created in Ulaanbaatar its 14th SheTrades hub to support women\u2019s role in business and trade. Two Women entrepreneurs, one Mongolian, the other Rwandan, explain their business.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Annegret Mathari<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Over 600 business people, policymakers and development experts from more than 60 countries gathered at end of June at the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) in Ulaanbaatar to talk trade, do business, and drive development. The conference was organized by the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Government of Mongolia.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A Forum highlight was the launch of the SheTrades Mongolia hub, which joined the International Trade Centre\u2019s global network to support women entrepreneurs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>A<\/span><\/span>s a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the ITC is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a development partner for small business export success. Women entrepreneurs in Mongolia are set to play a bigger role in the country\u2019s economic growth and efforts to diversify trade.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cMongolian women are highly educated and own more than two-thirds of the small businesses in the country, but they\u2019re constrained by challenges related to ownership rights, financing and equal pay,\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pointed out<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Pamela Coke-Hamilton, ITC Executive Director. \u201cWith the opening of the SheTrades Mongolia Hub, we look forward to building on our global network of public and private sector partners, so Mongolian women can play a stronger role in international trade.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The SheTrades initiative at the ITC has changed the economic lives of three million women in 30 countries by connecting them to markets.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Including\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Mongolia, the ITC has\u00a0<\/span><\/span>so far\u00a0<\/span><\/span>opened 14 regional hubs across Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean and Europe, and t<\/span><\/span>he project<\/span><\/span>\u00a0will continue to grow.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Erdene Naidan from Mongolia and Therese Sekamana present their business to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Diva and international Diplomat<\/i><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Production of cashmere garments<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Erdene Naidan is one of the Mongolian women entrepreneurs. She participated for the first time in the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) organised by the ITC in Ulaanbaatar this year, where she found networking opportunities for her company Zuzu.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She founded Zuzu for the production of cashmere garments together with her husband in 2013. They are selling their products under their brand name Dulaan.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Previously,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>both of them work<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span>\u00a0for the Gobi Corporation, a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>major<\/span><\/span>\u00a0manufacturer specializing in cashmere products, her husband as a technology engineer, and she as a sales person. \u201cSo, when we started our company, we already had more than 20 years of experience in producing cashmere garments\u201d, she says. \u201cA further advantage was that we have a combination of complementary knowledge.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0They are working with Japanese and German knitting machines and have 6 employees, plus women doing mainly handmade work at home like buttonholes and handwork on garment\u00a0<\/span><\/span>borders<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Today, under\u00a0<\/span><\/span>an<\/span><\/span>\u00a0OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>contract,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Erdene Naidan and her husband are selling garments to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a number of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>different countries,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>such as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>China and Russia,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Mongolia\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0two neighbours,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>as well as<\/span><\/span>\u00a0European countries like Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. Their garments\u00a0<\/span><\/span>are shipped<\/span><\/span>\u00a0by air cargo. Sometimes, when Gobi and other big companies have a work overload, Erdene Naidan\u2019s company act<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0as a subcontractor. For her own company, Erdene Naidan has found clients, for example, with the support of Mongolians living in European countries, and she also\u00a0<\/span><\/span>carried on<\/span><\/span>\u00a0succes<\/span><\/span>sf<\/span><\/span>ul campaigns by online advertisement.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Energy for Development<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"One of the panel<\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>ists at the WEDF in Ulaanbaatar was Therese Sekamana, the founder and CEO of LED Solutions & Green Energy Rwanda. She is also the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>c<\/span><\/span>hairperson of the Private Sector Federation Specialized Cluster, the host institution of the SheTrades Rwanda hub.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>As<\/span><\/span>\u00a0part of the diaspora\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in France<\/span><\/span>, Ms. Sekamana was looking for an activity to help rebuild her country after the genocide. In 2010 she founded her company. \u201cI was the first one to bring LED lamps to Rwanda, where I won the innovation prize in 2011\u201d, she says. Subsequently the government decided to switch to LED lighting.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some years later, when there was an opportunity for constructing micro-hydropower plants, Ms. Sekamana responded to the call for tenders,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>winning<\/span><\/span>\u00a0two projects for hydropower plants. \u201cEnergy is the backbone of development,<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0she\u00a0<\/span><\/span>insist<\/span><\/span>s. Today, the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>plant<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in Kigasa in the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>orth of the country is working, while the other one in the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>outh<\/span><\/span>w<\/span><\/span>est, in Ngororero, isn\u2019t yet connected to the national grid. The plants produce about 300 kWh.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>To put that into context, a<\/span><\/span>\u00a0small village in Rwanda uses monthly between 30 to 50 kWh. Usually, hous<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>holds don\u2019t have refrigerators or TV.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The importance of quality<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was insisting on quality\u201d,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>says\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Ms. Sekamana, who h<\/span><\/span>as a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>diploma\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in business administration\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and worked for a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>commercial<\/span><\/span>\u00a0bank\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in France<\/span><\/span>. \u201cAnd I\u2019m persist<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>nt, I don\u2019t give up once I have started\u00bb, she is add<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>alluding<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to her success. She had asked a Swiss company to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>do<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the feasibility study. \u201cA study might seem expensive, but it can save you money later\u201d, she explains. It\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the first time that Rwanda issued a call for tenders for independent energy producers. So, this expertise\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was lacking<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This Swiss company, Stucky, in Renens\u00a0<\/span><\/span>on<\/span><\/span>\u00a0lake of Geneva, also called for bids for the equipment. Ms. Sekamana signed a tripartite contract with Stucky and a French equipment manufacturer. She also signed an agreement to ask the manufacturer of the mechanical part, the turbine, to supply the electrical part too. \u201c<\/span><\/span>Should\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a problem occu<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span>, I didn\u2019t want to hear \u2018<\/span><\/span>I<\/span><\/span>t\u2019s not me, it\u2019s the electrical part,\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span>or \u2018It\u2019s not me, it\u2019s the mechanical part.\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u201d she explains. For this reason she wanted\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>\u00a0single company to be responsible for both.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, Ms. Sekamana concluded a maintenance contract with a Portuguese company in Rwanda that is building the new international airport of Kigali. And the French company HPP (Hydro Power Plant) trained the teams.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>If you invest in quality from the outset, you know from the start that you are building for many years. In general, power stations are built for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>life<\/span><\/span>time,\u201d she expounded, adding, \u201c<\/span><\/span>Quality is expensive.\u201d But if there is a natural disaster, it pays off. \u201cI’ve never had any problems with my project, the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span>lant or the power station, not even last May, when we had heavy rains that affected a lot of infrastructure and also human lives\u201d, Ms. Sekamana\u00a0<\/span><\/span>boasts<\/span><\/span>. Her company Green Energy Rwanda\u00a0<\/span><\/span>today\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has two 25-year PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) with the Government of Rwanda for the two hydropower plants.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva\u00a0has created in Ulaanbaatar its 14th SheTrades hub to support women\u2019s role in business and trade. Two Women entrepreneurs, one Mongolian, the other Rwandan, explain their business. Annegret Mathari Over 600 business people, policymakers and development experts from more than 60 countries gathered at end of June at the
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