INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION

Topic:             From Equality to Equality: Enhancing Opportunities for Women in International Trade and Business.

Date:              16 March 2023

Time:             12PM – 1PM EST

Event Link:    shorturl.at/jvJ38

In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, OWIT will host a virtual celebration themed: From Equality to Equality: Enhancing Opportunities for Women in International Trade and Business.

This special OWIT IWD panel aims to highlight the voices of OWIT leaders and Chapter Presidents from Africa, the Americas and Europe.

The panellists will share their perspectives and experiences on the theme of this year's International Women's Day in the context of their work in international trade and business.

The Panel discussion seeks to achieve the following:

●     Share experiences of women in international trade and business in your region in alignment with the IWD theme.

●   Propose strategies for adoption by Governments and policy makers in your region and explore ways in which the international trade landscape could be made level so as to create a more equitable space for women to trade and do business.

●      Amplify the voices of women leaders in international trade.

●      Showcase the contribution of OWIT Chapters

Blessing Eber Achu is a creative startup ecosystem builder. She is passionate about supporting the growth of women and youth-oriented/led SMEs in the African fashion industry - from cotton farmers to retail stores. Armed with extensive experience in Business Development and Sales Management in the Enterprise Software and Telecommunications sub-sectors, she is driven towards consistently exploring better ways of promoting Fashion Business Growth through technology.

She works not only to help creative brands improve their knowledge and methods, she also facilitates export and international reach for emerging fashion brands through e-commerce and strategic partnerships. She has extensive experience in conducting research, developing partnerships and mobilizing financial resources through private and public channels.

Blessing holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from University of Nigeria Nsukka. She is a Fellow of the African Women Entrepreneurship cooperative, Women Entrepreneurship by Bank of America for Cornell University, Cherie Blair Foundation, and the Enpact Mentoring program.

Over her 14 years professional journey, Blessing has successfully developed and implemented sales and marketing plans that aided the closing of multi-million-dollar deals. She is tenacious in generating growth, ensuring customer loyalty and fostering Trade relationships with external business partners.

She is a currently the Executive Vice-President OWIT Nigeria, Goodwill Ambassador for the Nigerian Student Fashion Design Week, mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, and promoter of leadership in young women, she sits on the board of few startup companies in Nigeria, beneficiary of the Texinnova Acceleration Program, the only fellow selected from Africa, and Sejour Culture Professional Program by French Government Nigeria.

Noreen Burroughes Cesareo is the President of the recently launched OWIT UK chapter. She is an International Strategic, Marketing, Communications, Gender and Trade specialist with an international private enterprise, corporate and entrepreneurial background.

She is also the principal consultant of a UK-based international advisory consultancy she set up in 2007 called Market Accents.

This WEConnect-certified consultancy delivers strategic, marketing and communications solutions to businesses internationally. Over the years, it has served as a platform for her to engage with clients across B2B and B2C on projects of varying sizes, at times working in collaborative partnerships with other SMEs and larger organizations to tender for projects within supply chains or to seek to open market opportunities. 

Noreen is driven to maintain an ethical, dynamic, inclusive and cohesive environment and believes in collaboration for growth. She actively promotes inclusion and diversity in supply chains and business models, and pushes for enterprise and girls education and women's economic empowerment. She does this through direct involvement as well as through volunteer roles, positions on boards and directorships; collaborative partnerships and support provided through her work, and as a speaker and author.

Audrey Ross 

Logistics and Customs Specialist, Orchard Custom Beauty, and Co-President, OWIT-Toronto.

A self-described #TradeGeek, Audrey is experienced in global shipping, supply chain operations, customs compliance, free trade agreements and international tax. She is recognized as a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP® | FIBP®) by the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT). Currently at Orchard Custom Beauty, she is an in-house expert tasked with managing the logistics and cross-border compliance of the company’s global supply chain. She has a wealth of international connections and strong communication skills. Audrey is also on the Board of Directors for Fashion Group International, Toronto chapter, and has been a Girl Guides of Canada Leader for 10 years.

MODERATOR

Kyesubire spent just under two decades in the event management industry and gained experience creating, planning and executing organizational management across sectors by consistently finding and applying unique perspectives. She learnt to listen and apply what she had learnt about people to create order, structure, cultural adaptation and growth.

She works to make every effort count, increase efficiency in processes and help people evaluate their position, set realistic goals, create action plans, aspire to grow, meet needs and communicate clearly.

She has spent over a decade working for and building SMEs and is committed to be a voice for them. As the founder of several SMEs, she is driven to help founders around Afrika function and thrive by learning to leverage on what they have, pursue growth in communities, raise their voices to be heard on matters that concern them and pass on a legacy of success to the next generation,

She is a visual scribe and storyteller driven by a deep faith in God, using words and images to connect all aspects of life. She is passionate about and has developed the ability to connect to young people and impact their lives by challenging them to rise only and never, ever settled.

She is the Founder & lead storyteller at Akiko Stories, a boutique communications business, the sitting President of the SME Founders Association, supports the Design Kenya Society with Communications and Logistics, a member of several boards, an SME mobiliser, mentor and trainer.