Ugandan women to get international tourism know-how

September 8, 2017 in Business, Trade & Industry, Travel & Tourism by Editor

September 8—Trainers hand-picked by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva and relevant business representatives, will be in Rwanda and Uganda during mid–September to give insight into how women can exploit opportunities in the tourism industry.

This is one component of the $19.5 million Women and Trade Programme intended to eventually benefit about 25,000 businesswomen across the East African Community. It is being implemented by TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), the non-profit consultancy based in Nairobi, the Dutch government put up the money two years ago for the programme  that covers five years.

This particular component, ‘Empowering Women in Trade in East Africa’ Project, was launched in July 2016, targeting Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, supporting export ready, and near export ready women-owned SMEs. The project focuses on the agri-food, textiles and apparel, and services sectors, with enterprises working in a range of sub sectors, such as coffee, tourism, IT (software) and IT enabled services.

ITC is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Generating economic growth and employment, which contributes to poverty reduction is the main aim of the programme. It is also designed to increase competitiveness and market access of women-owned small and medium enterprises.

Uganda Investment Authority, Uganda Export Promotion Board and Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Limited are involved in the training.

There are planned sessions on international tourism markets and buyer requirements; the travel and tourism industry structure: the structure of the industry and the kinds of companies involved. This unit provides a framework for learning about the industry structure in the broadest sense.

Participants will also be given an understanding of ‘Travellers’ Motivations- What Every Customer Wants’; the different kinds of services that business travelers buy compared to tourists (leisure travelers) and the kinds of companies that cater to each. Business-to-Business meetings have also been arranged during which participants will have a chance to learn from those actually involved in industry.

According to the tentative programme there will an opportunity to interact with the international buyers and learn from them about their procurement policies, regulations, requirements, together with  learning from their perspective how to conduct a negotiation, share experiences and explore opportunities.