Women entrepreneurs get support of Australian High Comm

The Australian High Commission and the “Association Mauricienne des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprise” organised a workshop on ‘Matching of Mentors & Mentees for Women Entrepreneurs in Mauritius’ last week. On the occasion, a manual for women entrepreneurs of the Indian Ocean was launched.

InPhoto: (From L to R) - Mrs Margaret Pan Sin (Past President of the AMFCE), Mrs Marie France Chamary (President of the AMFCE), HE Susan Coles (Australian High Commissioner), Mrs Diane Tompson (Australian woman entrepreneur, Oceanic Regional Commissioner for the World Women Heads of Enterprises (FCEM) and Vice President for the International Alliance of Women) and Mrs Aline Wong (Regional Commissioner for the Indian Ocean Region of the World Women Heads of Enterprises (FCEM) with copies of the newly launched manual.

Following the successful launch of their Coaching and Mentoring programme for women entrepreneurs in the Indian Ocean in the Seychelles, Mauritius and Rodrigues in 2015, the Australian High Commission and the “Association Mauricienne des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprise” continued their programme with a workshop on “Matching of Mentors & Mentees for Women Entrepreneurs in Mauritius” last week. 

The workshop saw the participation of women working in sectors such as printing, graphic design, jewellery, food/snacks, textiles, beauty and hairdressing, training and coaching and import/export. The Coaching and Mentoring program for women entrepreneurs in the Indian Ocean is a specially designed program aimed at accompanying women entrepreneurs to grow their existing enterprises, develop opportunities to move into main stream development and help them to overcome barriers, allowing them to move from informal to more formal sectors, or for example, into export markets.

The programme is being run by leading Australian woman entrepreneur, Oceanic Regional Commissioner for the World Women Heads of Enterprises (FCEM) and Vice President for the International Alliance of Women, Ms Diane Tompson and Ms Aline Wong, Regional Commissioner for the Indian Ocean Region of the World Women Heads of Enterprises (FCEM). Commenting on the programme, Australia’s High Commissioner to Mauritius, HE Ms Susan Coles, said that the Australian High Commission is pleased to have partnered with the AMFCE for the Australian Coaching and Mentoring program for women entrepreneurs in the Indian Ocean.  

“Australia has established gender equality and women’s empowerment as priorities for development in its Foreign and Aid Policy. This specialised programme and the links we have established with women entrepreneurs of the Indian Ocean are a real testament to Australia’s commitment in advancing the economic empowerment of women in the Indian Ocean region,” she said.

On her part, the President of AMFCE, Marie France Chamary-Samy, stated that the association firmly believes that “Alone, we are invisible and together we are invincible.” The President of Association Mauricienne des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises (AMFCE) together with Australia’s High Commissioner, leading Australian woman entrepreneur, Oceanic Regional Commissioner for the World Women Heads of Enterprises (FCEM) and Vice President for the International Alliance of Women, Ms Diane Tompson and Ms Aline Wong, Regional Commissioner for the Indian Ocean Region of the World Women Heads of Enterprises (FCEM). proceeded to the launch of the Manual on ‘Australian Coaching & Mentoring Program For Women Entrepreneurs in the Indian Ocean - Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles’. 

“This programme will help the association to accompany more women who wish to become successful entrepreneurs and contribute in their process of sustaining their activities, growing their business and getting into the mainstream development to overcome barriers, step into the formal sector and to enter into export markets. After our successful implementation of the project in Mauritius, we will now carry out the second part of the project in Comoros and Madagascar,” stated Marie France Chamary-Samy. 

The first part of the program was launched in the margins of a major IORA Women’s’ Economic Empowerment Event which was held in the Seychelles in August 2015 and co-hosted by Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, H.E. Ms Natasha Stott-Despoja and the Seychelles Ambassador for Women and Children, HE Dr Erna Athanasius. The Australian High Commission and the Association Mauricienne des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprise will launch the Coaching and Mentoring program for women entrepreneurs in the Indian Ocean in Madagascar and Comoros later this month.