SUVA – The United States Chargé d’Affaires Tony Greubel welcomed over 100 Fijian women entrepreneurs virtually to celebrate the launch of the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program for 2021. AWE is designed to further enhance women entrepreneurs’ skill sets in business and marketing. Seven groups of 20-25 women throughout Viti Levu and Vanua Levu will start workshops in June 2021 consisting of online training paired with mentor facilitation.
The U.S. Embassy is proud to partner with both the Women Entrepreneurs Business Council (WEBC), and Makoi Women’s Vocational Centre to manage the AWE program. U.S. State Department funding of US$23,000 (FJ$46,840) will provide opportunities for 170 women to learn skillsets that can be directly and immediately applied to creating or enhancing their business.
CDA Greubel said, “This year, women entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners will receive blended online and in person instruction by AWE facilitators. The facilitators along with their peers will then contextualize the material into something achievable. It is peer to peer learning paired with local mentorship. The model works!”
The 170 selected participants come from diverse backgrounds and levels of business expertise. Beyond learning in the academy, they will continue to be mentored and encouraged to share, learn, and network with AWE alumnae and members of their group. The Embassy will highlight the progress and successes of participants in the 2021 AWE program on social media over the next seven months. The U.S. Embassy looks forward to seeing participants succeed well beyond the completion of the program.