AWSC UON-WEE HUB BAGS FINANCIAL INCLUSION AWARD
Director, Intellectual Property Management Office, Prof. Mary Kinoti receiving the award for the UON-WEE Hub (on behalf of the VC, Prof. Stephen Kiama) from H.E. the President of Kenya, Dr. William Samoei Ruto
H.E President Dr. William Ruto yesterday, 2nd March 2023, awarded The University of Nairobi-Women’s Economic Empowerment Hub (UoN-WEE Hub) in recognition of its contribution towards women’s financial inclusion during the International Women’s Day Celebration held at KICC Nairobi. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama was represented by the Director of, the Intellectual Property Management Office, Prof. Mary Kinoti.
International Women's Day is an annual celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women across the world. This year’s event themed; DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality, recognized high-achieving organizations and individuals in tech leadership for their contributions and demonstrated expertise in driving business value addition.
The UON WEE Hub, a program of the African Women’s Study Centre, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was recognized and awarded for its efforts towards women’s financial inclusion under the category Economic and financial inclusion for women and girls through innovation and technology.
The achievement was realized through the thematic area of Affirmative Action Funds (AAFs) and Women’s Entrepreneurship, whereby the Hub evaluates the AAFs with the aim of generating evidence on what works for women’s economic empowerment. It utilizes the evidence generated to inform policy decisions and program interventions that transform the lives of women. Through the AAFs, the WEE Hub builds evidence on what works for these policies to be implemented and upscaled through policy advocacy. The Hub has evaluated the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) and funds such as Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), UWEZO, and Youth Development Enterprise Fund (YDEF) as well as the Credit Guarantee scheme (CGS). In addition, the Hub is incubating over six hundred individual and collective women’s businesses where they are exposed to innovative technology and value addition. The Hub is honored and continues to work with its partners to support the quest for Women’s Economic Empowerment.