Semi-urban women exhibit and trade products to consumers in Addis Ababa

Women entrepreneurs of semi-urban areas engaged in small-scale businesses took part in a ten-day market exhibition to trade their products to consumers and retailers in Addis Ababa. 

The ten-day exhibition organized by Women in Self Employment (WISE), one of the UN Women’s partners, was funded by the Government of Swedish International Development Cooperation, the Government of Norway and the Government of Netherlands.

The exhibition held in September in the premises of WISE brought together hundred participants of which ninety-five were from semi-urban areas and the remaining from within Addis Ababa.

Milk and poultry products, honey, grains, coffee, hand woven baskets and other consumer goods were some of the products brought to the tradeshow by the women entrepreneurs.

Before the exhibition the women entrepreneurs who involved in home-based and micro-scale business activities were trained on basic business skills under the Women Economic Empowerment Program.  

Most of the women took part in the exhibition for the first time, and they found the marketplace as an opportunity to apply the skills they acquired through the training.

Genet Gudeta, one of the participants, said, “My business on poultry products is homebased. Before receiving the basic business skills training, I never did the cost and profit of my business.  Now, I am able to calculate even my own salary before setting the price for each of the products.”

Werkenesh Milka, one of the participants from the semi-urban area, stated that  the exhibition helped  her market her milk to the consumers in a better price.  According to Werkenesh, she sells a litre of milk only for 26 Birr because of brokers involvement in the market chain. At the exhibition, she was able to sell the same amount for 40 birr. 

Some of the participants also mentioned the networks they established with urban buyers and sellers as a critical benefit of the exhibition in addition to securing better prices for the displayed products.

For Elfnesh Dinku, who was also selling milk and milk products, the exhibition was an opportunity to purchase what she needs from entrepreneurs in Addis. “Through interaction with the participants from Addis Ababa, I have already identified the items to buy from here, as they are not easily available from where I came from,” she said.