PRESS RELEASE
African Women Trade & Investment Opportunities Conference
May 27th, to 29th, 2013, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Canada
On May 28th Thecla C. Deterville, of Celestial Self Development Centre participated in a conference of Canadian & African Women Trade & Investment Opportunities at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto Canada. The Conference was organized by The African Diplomatic Corps, African Women Diplomatic Forum (AWDF) and the Canadian Council on Africa (CCAfrica). The conference was held under the theme “The Role of Women in Stimulating the Economy.”
Approximately 250 persons attended the conference with 150 coming from 13 African countries. The objectives of the conference for the African delegation were to help Canadians better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by African business women and to find potential new business partners. For the Canadian and the diaspora, it was a unique opportunity to further their understanding of some of the most vibrant economies in the world and to explore the vast potential for new investments and business development in Africa. The ultimate objective of the AWDF and the Canadian Council on Africa was to build stronger relations and promote increased commercial activities between Africa and Canada.
Presentations were made on the following areas; The Role of Women in Business & Trade; Creating a Conducive Environment for Business and Trade; Facilitating Business and Trade Opportunities; Access to Canadian Markets; Cooperation and Exchange between African and Canadian Business Women. This segment was Chaired by Thecla C. Deterville , and comprised panelist from African Business Women Association (CAABWA (Canada); an OWIT (Canada) Organization of Women in Trade representative and Dr. Ngozi Olojeme, herself an Entrepreneur and representative of Women’s Business Federation of Nigeria she is also the Chairman, of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.
In her address Mrs. Deterville highlighted the similarity of the challenges faced by women in business namely; limited access to major funding; constraints of time allocation due to multiplicity of roles i.e. mother, wife, community worker, church worker, home management, self-care, etc.; challenges with assertiveness and self-esteem and the vexing issue of a general lack of support of women for other women. These issues were not only highlighted at this forum but at another international event of women she had attended the week prior comprising women from India, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, USA and Canada.
As a speaker she was also presented with an opportunity to engage in B2B sessions where participants from the African continent had an opportunity to be mentored by select facilitators of their choice. This segment of the conference was very instructive and again highlighted the commonality in the challenges faced by Businesses in the global sphere. Limited capital, insufficient knowledge of international trade issues and Managing of the Human Resource proved to be high on the agenda of most participants.
From reports received Ms. Deterville’s presentation was very inspiring and there were several positive comments about her knowledge and experience in human resources development.
Ms. Deterville’s participation at this Conference was made possible through her contact with a Consultant, Diane Girard who is contracted by The Saint Lucia Coalition of Service Industries, under the Export Development Platform initiative – Roadmap to Exporting Your Services. This project is geared at helping small businesses prepare for the export market with an initial focus on the OECS Countries. The project entailed the development of an Export Plan and a Market Entry Plan. Following the planning stage a trade mission has been organized to visit Grenada and St. Vincent & the Grenadines from July 14th to July 18, 2013. Six businesses have been selected to participate including Celestial Self Development Centre.
She had this to say about the opportunity “I have learned through this project the value of setting specific goals and most importantly networking at events such as this conference. It has helped me to more clearly see the possibilities for my organization, and to give meaning to the saying that we live in a global village. Following this intervention, positioning my organization in a more strategic way has taken on added importance and I recognize the value that we, from small island states can bring to other markets far greater is size. At the end of the day it is all about partnerships, relationship building and how we can learn from each other”.
