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A high-level meeting took place on November 12, 2025, at the Italian Embassy in Tripoli with the Women's Business Committee of the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the COMESA Businesswomen's Association (COMFWB), Libya Chapter. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐇.𝐄. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐬. 𝐈𝐛𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐚 (𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧) (𝐍𝐨𝐯 𝟑𝟎 - 𝐃𝐞𝐜 𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓). The Italian Embassy committed to providing necessary support and facilitating future participations, underscoring the strong commitment to boosting women's economic empowerment and cross-border business development.

The Dumar iyo DADAAL- the COMFWB Djibouti Regional Caravan was a powerful journey across all 4 regions of Djibouti : Dikhil, Ali Sabieh, Obock et Tadjourah ! The leaders of the association connected with women entrepreneurs, laying the foundation for their regional branches

The COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) recently conducted an intensive, action-packed three-day capacity building training for the women of the Tangakona Commercial Village Farmers Cooperative Society in Busia County, Kenya, with expert facilitation from Farm Concern International. This hands-on training served as a combined kitchen, classroom, and business incubator, focusing on empowering the women with real-world skills across the entire cassava value chain, which included learning smart growing techniques, creating value by processing raw cassava into high-quality products like baked goods, developing strong business practices such as branding and market access, and mastering essential financial management skills to ensure their enterprises are profitable and sustainable for the future of their community.

A key exchange meeting on Public Procurement was held in Bujumbura on October 31, 2025, aimed at strengthening transparency and efficiency in the sector through constructive dialogue among stakeholders and ministry leadership. The collaborative session successfully clarified procedures and improved synergy for future public contract management. Most significantly, the meeting addressed the underrepresentation of women in procurement, resulting in a landmark decision to establish a 10% quota specifically reserved for women in public procurement processes to foster their active economic inclusion, with the Association of Business Women of Burundi (AFAB) being a key participant in advocating for this change.

Eswatini at Engage Trade Africa 2024 The Kingdom of Eswatini is actively participating in the Engage Trade Africa 2024 conference in Durban, with its Business Support Organisations (BSOs) and MSMEs focused on building stronger regional trade ties and expanding market reach across the continent. The International Trade Centre (ITC) was thanked for sponsoring this platform, while a special highlight featured Lisa Maphanga, the Liaison Officer for the COMFWB Eswatini Chapter, who excelled in B2B meetings. Ms. Maphanga is specifically concentrating her efforts on securing vital trade opportunities and forming key collaborations intended to directly empower women-led enterprises back in Eswatini, underscoring the delegation's commitment to African trade collaboration and national economic benefit.

COMFWB-NWEC Incubation Centre Launch The COMFWB Chapter in Mauritius, the National Women Entrepreneur Council (NWEC), celebrated a monumental achievement with the grand opening of its new Incubation Centre, which is designed as a dynamic powerhouse and exclusive launchpad for women entrepreneurs and start-ups. This centre represents a definitive commitment to accelerating women's business growth by replacing challenges with concrete opportunities, offering a robust suite of services including one-on-one mentoring from seasoned experts, professional coaching and workshops, tailored guidance on growth and financing, and a collaborative ecosystem to foster networking and shared success, ultimately aiming to empower women and ensure the entire community thrives.