"Technology and Internet. Women with information have power. If you don't have information you can't succeed in business. What we women entrepreneurs associations must do is support women to use technology.
"We need to give training. We learned about a website called Microsoft Digital Learning where people can learn to use computers and software. Someone who is already good at using internet and various software packages can quickly learn to be a trainer. We need to establish centres where our entrepreneurs can come an be trained.
"What we also need is computers. In our association there is only one computer. How can we give more training with just one computer? If we can get some used computers we can better serve the needs of our members. If we use computers in our business we can transfer information to our members. Our members can enter tax information on the computer. We need computers to do business. Our entrepreneurs do not have the knowledge they need for their business. With their lack of information they cannot grow.
"We also need websites. If we had websites we could exchange more information, for example with the UK and our potential clients there.
"We have organic products, honey and spice without chemicals. When we ask with technology where the demand is, we can send the product easily. The consumer is happy because there are no chemicals used in the production of the honey and spices and other organic material. We can send from our country to the UK or the Netherlands. But we can't do this at this time, because at this time we do not have the technology to reach our customers.
"There are 13 different kinds of association in the Ethiopian entrepreneurs association. This umbrella organisation includes the disabled women entrepreneurs association, farmers, exporters and women entrepreneurs associations. Many of these organisations have little information.the exportrs association has some information but does not have linkages, like joint ventures, with UK associations or partners.These women's collectives have little or no information.
"We want to learn more from Sacoma and from Lin about how to use the Internet to solve this problem of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia."
Engedaye requested that Lin think about how to help women entrepreneurs associations get better connected, every time she opens her laptop.
For starters, at least every women entrepreneurs association should have a laptop or computer.
That is not all.
Engedaye also reflected on violence against women and how this affects women entrepreneurs. When women have good businesses and can support their families, the families do better.
Wat we need is to work with men. The old communist idea on gender was to give women freedom. Liberate them. But traditionally men are the head of the household. We will not make improvements if we try to avoid this, Engedaye says. We need to make it so that the men want women to be successful entrepreneurs. Dina Bina told the story about how she tried to get women at her church to go to the hospital to check for cervical cancer. When she asked for all the women to come, noone came. When she asked for the men to be responsible and ensure that the women were able to undergo the checkup, 300 women participated.
In other words, Engedaye says, we need to change the paradigm and work with men.
If we raise gender equality we can cancel violence against women. We can teach a good culture. If it is not a good culture we all suffer.
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