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Dallas to Host US-International Women Small Business Meet

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In Summary: A- 3-day international US-Africa women’s’ day business conference and excellence awards is underway in Dallas, Texas from Thursday, March 30 to Saturday, April at the MCM Elegante Hotel & Suites, 2330, W Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas. As Samuel Muwanguzi reports, the theme for this year’s international conference for women entrepreneurs is “Promoting African Women SMEs in the US as a panacea for inter-continental economic growth. Organized by Africa Informer Magazine through its parent company Saint Roc Enterprises, the conference will provide delegates with information on how to access loans through the US-small business administration.

Ike with awardees during the second West Africa SMEs conference and award held at the British Council auditorium in Accra, Ghana last year.

Dallas, Texas--The US-Africa international women’s’ day business conference and excellence awards is underway in Dallas, Texas from Thursday, March 30 to Saturday, April, organizers announced here over the weekend. The theme for this year’s international conference for women entrepreneurs is “Promoting African Women SMEs in the US as a panacea for inter-continental economic growth,” a statement by Ike Onwuka –Smarty, the international coordinator of the conference said. The 3-day conference, organized by Africa Informer Magazine through its parent company Saint Roc Enterprises, will be held at MCM Elegante Hotel & Suites, 2330, W Northwest Highway, Dallas, Texas. This is one of a series of conferences for African women entrepreneurs in the USA organized by Informer Magazine since 2008 when it launched a promotion campaign for SMEs in Africa.

Ike Onwuka

The US-Africa international Women’s Day conference and awards will provide delegates with information on how to access loans through the US-small business administration. The agency extends loans to SMEs that range from $10,000 TO $100,000 for businesses registered in the USA  that have operated for at least one year, according to a statement issued by the conference organizers. The conference will also feature business forums and networking sessions; products and services exhibition, and company profile presentations; and a buffet lunch /awards dinner, the organizers said.

“Previously, our  activities of promoting SMEs in Africa for African women entrepreneurs in the USA mainly targeted women from West Africa but we have now embarked on a campaign to engage and include business women originating from East, Central, and southern Africa,” Ike Onwuka –Smarty, the international coordinator of the conference told the EADM in a phone interview Friday. Registration and participation fee for the conference is $100 covering company adverts in the event brochure, hall branding with banner, logo on backdrop, buffet lunch, awards banquet dinner, and a certificate of participation, organizers stated.

Ike Onwuka –Smarty, the international coordinator of the conference said the agenda of inclusion for all women hailing from the entire Africa continent is informed by proven and documented success of women-owned SMEs. According to eh World Bank, Women-operated SMEs have accounted for over 70% of business profitability across the African continent for over a decade. In Africa, Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Like in the USA, have become a powerful force and the main drivers of economic growth.

In Ghana, for example, SMEs provide about 85 percent of manufacturing employment, contributing about 70 percent to Ghana’s GDP, inspiring a catalytic impact on economic growth, income and employment, a statement from the conference organizers said. In countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and others, women are playing a pivotal role in the continued growth of SMEs on the continent.

The major highlight of the conference will be a keynote speech by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) and District Director for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Mr. Herbert Austin focusing on How businesses can tap into the various opportunities offered by the US Small Business Administration and its impact on the US and global economy.  Mr. Ike Onwuka-Smarty, a Business Consultant and CEO Africa Informer magazine, is scheduled to welcome the delegates and highlight Lucrative investments for US small and medium businesses in Africa and how to avoid loopholes.

Nigerian top Business women Sikeade Adetu and Francisca Karikari MD Glory Gate Capital Ghana

A leading women entrepreneur in the DFW area, Ms. Reginalea Sturns-Kemp, President & CEO, Kemp and Sons General Services, Fort Worth, is also scheduled to deliver a presentation on Women Power; Championing African / US women enterprise collaboration to create new windows of opportunities for intercontinental and global growth. The President & CEO of Consumer & Market Insights (CMI), DALLAS, MS ROYALYN REID will address delegates on How African America women business success can inspire Black women Globally to become entrepreneurial champions. Presentations of business and company profiles will also take place on the opening day.    

The second day of the conference has been set aside for networking and visitations while the final day will feature an award ceremony during a Dinner at which certificates of recognition for Excellence will be presented to outstanding contributions to the growth of women enterprises in the US, Africa, and around the globe. The delegates to the conference will also network with top financial services operators from Africa that will advise on how to invest in Africa on how to get the maximum return on their investment in real estate and other ventures in Africa, one of the world’s most rewarding emerging markets.

Through its parent company Saint Roc Enterprises, Africa Informer Magazine has previously held various conferences and awards presentation in Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and created platforms to recognize the contributions of women entrepreneurs and to promote collaboration and growth between SMEs in the USA and Africa through the US-Africa International Women’s Day Conference and Excellence Awards. Among others, the company focuses on promoting US – AFRICA entrepreneurial networking and collaboration especially amongst small and medium businesses; improving exports of goods from US to Africa and vice versa, through properly established business relationships amongst small business, especially owned or managed by women; encouraging the establishment of lucrative investments in Africa’s high yielding emerging markets for US small and medium businesses; and promoting technical support, information and ideas integration between US and African businesses.