Today, the U.S. Department of State launched a regional summit for the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) exchange program in East Africa, welcoming more than 100 women entrepreneurs from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Great Lakes region of Uganda. As an integral part of broader U.S. efforts to promote economic access and opportunity for women and expand people-to-people engagement, AWE provides women with the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch or scale successful businesses in communities and countries worldwide. Since 2019, AWE has operated in 25 countries in Africa and has empowered more than 6,000 women entrepreneurs across the region to grow their businesses and reach their full economic potential.

The Summit, which runs from July 11-13 and is hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, leverages interactive workshops led by American women entrepreneurs, key engagements from government officials, and networking opportunities for Summit participants to strengthen and advance women-led businesses across East Africa.  The summit will include interactive workshops and sessions on business sustainability, funding, and technology trends, which will be led by U.S. private sector leaders, Department officials, the U.S. African Development Foundation, and Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Management (ASU).

The Department partners with ASU and the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, the creators of DreamBuilder , a no-cost online learning platform that teaches AWE participants the fundamentals of business from a U.S. perspective. As a flagship program that promotes entrepreneurship through increased trade, AWE aligns with the U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security . To date, AWE has been implemented in over 100 countries and has benefitted an estimated 25,000 women worldwide.