Highlights from a Successful Virtual General Assembly

From 17th - 19th of March, The African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative (AWEC) successfully hosted its second Virtual General Assembly, to celebrate and mark the end of the program year for AWEC’s Cohort 3 Fellows. Bringing together fellows and alumnae from across three cohorts, mentors, phenomenal Keynote speakers and Learning Lab leaders, the convening served as an opportunity to honor the successes of Cohort 3, while providing skill building opportunities for collaborative learning, problem solving, and engaging with experts. 

In display of this year’s theme, ‘Looking Back, Looking Ahead’, the Virtual General Assembly hosted several facilitated workshops that allowed for reflection on the lessons learned in 2020 and planning for 2021 and beyond. 

Among the highlights were the interactive pitch workshops and expert-taught Learning Labs covering important topics like data analytics, organizational culture, and risk mitigation. Learning Lab Leaders included AWEC Mentor, Suzanne Brune, a Senior Manager in Business Consulting at EY, AWEC Alumna, Maryam Darwich (MSc, BA), Founder and Lead Consultant at Afriqia HR Solutions, and Benard Chitunga, Senior Officer at the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), an initiative of the African Development Bank Group. Additionally, other AWEC mentors volunteered their time and expertise to lead small group workshops that dived into specific business challenges and functional areas. Fellows were able to interact directly and have short conversations with workshop leaders and speakers through live Q&A. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we plan to share some actionable takeaways from each of their sessions! 

Sage Advice from Those Who’ve Done It

The event also featured opening and closing Keynote Speeches delivered by AWEC Alumna, Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Founder & CEO of Lifebank, and Payin Marfo, Founder of Ladybird Logistics. 

Using lessons from her very own experience, Temie stressed the importance of putting specific measures in place —should another global shock arise— and that in order for African women entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities arising during crisis they need to swiftly shift from preparation to readiness: “The great shocks [Ebola and COVID pandemics] are opportunities that ensure our businesses are anti-fragile. As women leaders we must be prepared to meet crises with calm, innovation, and speed!”

Payin brought the AWEC Virtual General Assembly to a close with a heart-warming Keynote. Attendees were in for another treat as they heard from this trailblazing entrepreneur who, in 2018, broke the glass ceiling to set up Ladybird Logistics Limited, the first company to employ only female truck drivers in Ghana, West Africa. She shared her story and some of the lessons she learnt while building her company.

She also reminded attendees to stay focused, avoid distractions and celebrate successes no matter how small.

By telling the story of her phenomenal journey she left the entrepreneurs feeling inspired and challenged to do and be more. 

Enhancing the Virtual Experience After Spending a Year on Zoom

Two popular features from the event were the ‘AWEC Business Lounge’ and ‘The Attendee Workbook’. 

To mimic the serendipitous experience of sitting in an airport lounge and connecting with prospective business contacts, AWEC launched the ‘AWEC Business Lounge’ to facilitate speed networking opportunities. Attendees were randomly assigned to Zoom virtual breakout rooms where they could choose menu-option topics as conversation starters allowing participants to form new connections, learn from each other’s experiences, and exchange ideas. 

Attendees were also given a downloadable ‘Workbook’ with which to follow along during the event and to supplement their learning experience during the Virtual General Assembly. The comprehensive workbook included session overviews, case studies, interactive assignments, and an actionable business scorecard that they could use to implement all they learned throughout the event.

Taking a moment to pause, Karen Sippel, AWEC co-founder and Managing Director also expressed thanks to the AWEC community —donors, partners, Live Session Leaders, mentors and the AWEC team— for their continued support, especially during a difficult year, and without whose help, AWEC’s programming would not be possible. 

And so it was that we ended another successful year. This cohort of phenomenal African women —dubbed the ‘Olympians of Perseverance’ by Chris Caine, President of The Center for Global Enterprise (CGE)— came together just as the pandemic took hold of the world. During a time when creating online connections became more important than ever, these entrepreneurs demonstrated a perseverance and toughness that will serve them well in the future.

Congratulations AWEC Cohort 3!