Tunisia is set to host the seventh edition of the regional trade fair and business conference of the COMESA Business Women’s Federation from July 1 to 3 under the theme “One Market, One Future: Digital Transformation – Digital pathways to harnessing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
The media campaign for the event was launched on Monday at the headquarters of the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts (UTICA), in the presence of several ambassadors, media representatives, and women entrepreneurs.
After six successful editions hosted in Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, Egypt, and Madagascar, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and its women in business arm, the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB), have entrusted Tunisia—represented by the National Chamber of Women Business Owners—with organizing this year’s gathering.
Tunisia’s pivotal role in regional integration
Speaking at the press briefing, Leila Belkhiria Jaber, head of the National Chamber of Women Business Owners and vice president of COMFWB, said that Tunisia’s selection to host this major economic and trade event “is recognition of the pivotal role our country plays in African regional integration efforts and of the commitment of Tunisian women entrepreneurs to forging a shared and prosperous future.”
She noted that the conference theme accurately reflects the ambitions driving women business owners, “making digital technology a genuine lever for market access, democratizing cross-border trade for women running micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and translating the political commitments of the AfCFTA into tangible commercial transactions.”
Belkhiria Jaber also praised the support received from the government and various institutions to ensure the success of the event, which will serve as a platform for experience-sharing, partnership-building, and showcasing products and services. The trade fair is expected to feature more than 300 exhibitors, while over 400 participants from COMESA’s 21 member states will take part in the conference.
Digital space as a roadmap for market entry
Maureen Sumbwe, president of COMFWB, emphasized that this seventh edition represents a decisive turning point. “We are hosting the first-ever ‘COMESA Week’ in North Africa, in ambitious Tunisia – a strong signal that the unified African market is being built from all horizons, from north to south and east to west,” she said.
Maureen added that the conference’s focus on the digital space is a “roadmap that will enable women entrepreneurs from member states to access the Tunisian market and other markets.” She explained that the main objectives of this edition are inclusive market access, sustainable development, expanding intra-African trade, and digital innovation.
Organizers anticipate the participation of 100 senior officials and decision-makers, along with 6,000 attendees—both in person and virtually—and 400 active participants in the conference.
Founded in 1993 under the COMESA treaty, the COMESA Federation of Women in Business operates on the belief that African regional economic integration can only reach its full potential when women—as entrepreneurs, traders, and producers—participate fully and equitably.
TunisianMonitorNews (Dhouha)
