The U.S. Embassy, in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurs Business Council (WEBC) and Makoi Women’s Vocational Centre, launched the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program in Fiji yesterday for the fifth consecutive year.
The embassy granted US $43,300 (FJD95,000) to WEBC to organize AWE Fiji 2024 for women business owners from Fiji’s Central, Northern, and Western Divisions, encompassing diverse backgrounds and business proficiencies.
Marie C. Damour, the U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, stated, “With today’s event, the United States is proud to continue our support for an inclusive, prosperous Pacific. The 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent identifies economic development as one of its key thematic areas, and we join your leaders in our commitment to empower women to be active participants in economic life.”
The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs equips enterprising women with the knowledge, networks, and resources necessary to start and expand successful businesses.
Seven facilitators from the Women Entrepreneurs Business Council and Makoi Vocational and Training Centre will guide women business owners through the AWE mentoring and training program.
AWE employs a hybrid model that combines the online training platform “DreamBuilder,” developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management in partnership with global mining company Freeport-McMoRan, with in-person mentoring and facilitation.
Through AWE, participants learn essential business skills and then gather as a group to discuss the material with their facilitators and alumni, who adapt the content to Fiji’s local context.
Facilitators have also enhanced their knowledge and skills through virtual training by the Washington, D.C.-based AWE team and participated in an in-person workshop to improve their training facilitation skills and course content knowledge.
Since the launch of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs in Fiji in 2020, 457 women entrepreneurs have graduated from the program.
The benefits of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs extend well beyond the program’s duration, as alumnae apply the skills they acquired to manage their businesses and join a vast network of women business leaders.
A recent survey revealed that over 90 percent of AWE alumnae reported that the program helped boost their confidence and self-esteem, as well as enhance their strategic planning and public speaking skills.