Coaching and mentoring programme for women entrepreneurs in Indian Ocean |31 August 2015

‘Alone invisible, together invincible’

A workshop dedicated to women entrepreneurs was held last week at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Mont-Fleuri.

In line with the IORA´s (Indian Ocean Rim Association) objective of promoting Women´s Economic Empowerment, the Australian high commissioner and the Association Mauricienne des Femmes Chefs d´Entreprise (AMFCE) launched this session to establish a coaching and mentoring programme.

Delegates took advantage of the Australian expertise of Diana Tompson. She is the Oceanic regional commissioner for FCEM (Femmes Chefs d´Entreprises Mondiales) and vice-president for TIAW (The International Alliance for Women). This was an opportunity to exchange lessons learned and best practices in Australia.

“As a mentor, I’m here to make a difference in the mentee’s life. Mentoring is a professional relationship not a social relationship. You will never stop learning. You have to listen to each other. You need to talk and to work together,” she said.

In collaboration with Aline Wong, the main objective is to build all together a solid programme tailored to the Seychelles women entrepreneurs’ needs. To do that, she made a presentation of the coaching and mentoring programme of IWEC (International Women Entrepreneurs Challenge) Cherie Blair and Dreams Beyond Borders. “We will put you in connection with the right mentor to your needs,” she added.

Ms Wong has presented the modules about the Indian Ocean Model in the Entrepreneurship programme. And to ensure to do the right thing, the experts assessed the needs of the women entrepreneurs and cooperatives. They had panel discussions on the legal framework for doing business in Seychelles. To conclude, they shared on the strategic importance of the identification of resources and the way forward.

“A bright idea with smart actions really gets you through beyond your dreams. This coaching programme, financed by the Australian high commission, will belong to Indian Ocean,” according to Ms Wong.

This event reflects a practical initiative of recommendation 4 of the Mahé Consensus on Gender Equality. This document was adopted at the IORA Women´s Economic Empowerment Conference on August 25, 2015 in Seychelles.

Australia’s high commissioner to Seychelles, Susan Coles, said “Focusing on encouraging women to establish and participate in business networks and offering training to women in business strategies is important. It has been great having such excellent partners on the ground here. I would like to thank Minister Michael Benstrong of Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation and Minister Vincent Meriton of Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports for making time in their busy schedules to be here with us. A big thank you in particular to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Sylvianne Valmont from SAWE and to Penny Belmont, chief executive of Senpa.” 

“We need to work together as a team, not individually. We must work hard as high level athletes. And don’t waste time on one else’s dream,” said Ms Belmont.

A similar workshop will take place in Mauritius and Rodrigues in Port Louis this week, with phase two in Madagascar and Comoros in 2016.