Amhara Region Women’s Entrepreneurship Association (AWEA) is a legally registered umbrella organization of women entrepreneurs in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The association was first founded by sixty businesswomen in 2000. Today, AWEA has over 150,000 members and 121 branch offices across the region. Among the total members, around 71,119 women entrepreneurs run different types of agribusinesses in the city and rural woreda administrations of the region. AWEA envisions equitable and fair economic participation of women and girls in the Amhara Region.
AWEA constantly advocates and lobbies for the voices of its members and women entrepreneurs at large with local, regional, and national government agencies and organizations. Some of the outcomes registered due to the advocacy efforts of AWEA were: providing advocacy training for more than 12,000 women in collaboration with development partners like Sida and CIPE, and the establishment of 41 saving and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) owned and managed by women alone which is unusual in other regions.
Vision
The vision is to see the association become one of the key development partners that makes a significant impact in the Amhara region.
Mission
Our mission is to become a strong representative voice for the needs and interests of women in business; and strengthen women entrepreneurs through business development services so that women-owned businesses grow, become competent, and they play their important roles in the socio-economic developments of the region.