NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 — Kenyan entrepreneur Laura Akunga Mwenje has been elected treasurer of the newly launched Continental Network for Women’s Business Associations in Africa (CONWOBAA), a pan-African platform that seeks to strengthen women-led enterprises and advance intra-African trade.
Akunga, the Founder and CEO of Benchmark Solutions Limited and current Chair of the African Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) Kenya and its Secretariat, joins a leadership team comprising women business leaders from across the continent.
The association elected Dimakatso Malwela, President of Women of Value South Africa (WOVSA), as its first chairperson, with Fanja Razakaboana, President of the Madagascar Women Entrepreneurs Association, serving as deputy chairperson. Mabel Ibidun Quarshie, CEO of Acquatic Foods Limited (Ghana), was elected secretary.
The network was unveiled during the inaugural Global SME Ministerial Meeting in Johannesburg, jointly launched by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the African Union Commission (AUC).
CONWOBAA brings together more than 102 women’s business associations from West Africa, North Africa, the Indian Ocean, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa. It is designed to facilitate cross-border trade for women entrepreneurs under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and to help women-led associations access sustainable business opportunities.
The leadership team also includes regional representatives from countries such as Comoros, Malawi, Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Ethiopia, underscoring its continental reach.
“This Network underpins ITC’s broader efforts through SheTrades and One Trade Africa to create real market access for women-led enterprises,” said Dorothy Tembo, ITC Deputy Executive Director, while unveiling the association’s leadership.
On her part, Malwela highlighted the systemic challenges African women entrepreneurs continue to face, including limited access to finance, gender bias, and weak support structures. She said the network would champion policy reforms to address these barriers while creating an enabling environment for women in business.
The leadership emphasized that CONWOBAA represents not only a structural framework for women entrepreneurs but also a symbolic commitment to inclusive trade and economic empowerment across Africa.
