Does your association or chamber of commerce aspire to better serve your members?
Do you wish you could manage your organization differently so that things would improve?
Or are you looking for ways to help make your association more sustainable?
If you said yes to any of these questions, then sign up for CIPE’s KnowHow Mentorship program! CIPE is recruiting for business associations and chambers of commerce from around the world looking for free technical assistance.
Posted in Global
Tagged business associations, capacity building, chambers of commerce, KnowHow Exchange, mentorship
(Photo: The Telegraph)
Elissa Myers is the president and CEO of Advice & Consensus. She is serving as a mentor for the Georgian Small and Medium Enterprise Association through CIPE’s Knowhow Mentorship program.
When I was offered the opportunity to serve as a mentor to the Georgian Small and Medium Enterprises Association through CIPE’s KnowHow program, I jumped at it. Earlier I spent a couple of months in the Republic of Georgia, working with two other emerging associations, and fell in love with the country, its history, its culture, its people, and its potential.
Strategically located between Asia and Europe, with Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to the south, the Caucasus Mountains to the north, and with glorious port towns bordering on the Black Sea to the west, Georgia represents an important opportunity for international investment. It’s a country poised to blossom as an important market partner, but to do so a stronger internal business community is needed. Under the leadership of Kakha Kokhreidze, President CEO of the GSMEA, that community is gaining strength.
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Tagged business associations, Georgia, KnowHow Exchange, mentorship, private sector
How can experienced professionals share their expertise to help build the capacity of associations around the world? With this question in mind, CIPE launched the KnowHow Mentorship in the summer of 2011.
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Posted in Global
Tagged business associations, capacity building, KnowHow Exchange, mentorship, women's associations
Two participants of CIPE’s KnowHow program are being recognized this week in Washington, DC for their work as distinguished individuals whose efforts have advanced the economic empowerment of women locally, regionally, or worldwide.
Sanja Popovic‐Pantic, the President and Executive Director of Association of Business-Women of Serbia (ABW) is receiving the 2012 The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) World of Difference 100 Award. Sanja is being awarded for her efforts advancing economic empowerment of Serbian women by starting and successfully expanding her organization, ABW.
Likewise, Selima Ahmed from the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), a winner of 2010 TIAW World of Difference 100 Award, served as a TIAW Honorary Chair for this year’s awards selection.
Both ABW and BWCCI are KnowHow mentees , receiving virtual mentorships from association executives in the US.
Congratulations, Sanja and Selima!
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Posted in Eurasia, Global, South Asia
Tagged KnowHow Exchange, mentorship, women, women's associations
Last week, CIPE welcomed six mentee associations from the KnowHow Mentorship program to Washington, D.C. As you may recall from previous posts about KnowHow, the program connects volunteers with technical expertise to local associations seeking assistance from around the world.
Members of Women in Management and Business, a KnowHow participant in Lagos, Nigeria (Photo: Staff).
Women around the world are still underrepresented in the policymaking and economic spheres. One way for women to become active citizens is working with civil society organizations that have the tools and knowledge to help give them a voice and advocate for reform. That’s why CIPE launched the KnowHow mentorship program (KnowHow) last year on International Women’s Day. KnowHow connects volunteers with technical expertise to local associations around the world seeking their know-how. To date, the program has successfully matched experienced business professionals with twelve associations from developing countries, ten of which are women’s business associations.
Here are some highlights of what’s been happening:
The Association of Business Women in Serbia (ABW-Serbia) has been working with Peter O’Neil since last summer. They have a monthly conference call to improve on ABW’s pressing organizational issues, including fundraising, financing, and membership services. O’Neil and Anastasia Jelasic, the Business Development Advisor for ABW, recently created ABW’s working plan for the year 2012, and are moving forward with the mentorship. As Jelasic noted, “ABW expects that this KnowHow mentorship will provide the organization with the knowledge and skills necessary for making our organization sustainable as Serbia joins the path to EU membership.”
Since December 2010, Russell McKinnon has been mentoring the Women Business Owners Jamaica (WBO), an association that promotes the success of women business owners through education, research, mentorship, and networking. Through online meetings and document review and exchange, Russ works closely with WBO to strengthen the organization’s capacity and to develop sustainable revenue sources to better serve the needs of WBO’s members and stakeholders. Yaneek Page, the President of WBO, said that “a significant benefit to us thus far is the input and guidance of our [KnowHow mentor, Russ] in the development of a comprehensive three year strategic plan that’ll serve as a platform for WBO’s organizational growth, resilience and continuity.”
The Association of Businesswomen and Top Managers (AFAFCI) in Romania – which aims to become one of the main representatives of the local business community for women – is working with Harriet Fader to identify the needs and values of AFAFCI’s 39 members. Through KnowHow, AFAFCI has been exposed to new strategies for increasing membership, networking activities for members to better connect and start partnerships, and ideas of community service projects. Delia Cojocaru, the Executive Director of AFAFCI, strongly believes that “exchanging experiences and best practices is essential for organization progress. CIPE’s KnowHow Exchange [is] a [great opportunity] that turned into a successful dialogue.”
Check out how other business associations in the program are improving their organizations through the KnowHow mentorships and what the mentors think about assisting associations in other countries. Two of the mentors, Peter O’Neil and Susan Sarfati, also shared their KnowHow experiences on video.
CIPE will continue working with women’s business associations to help empower them by growing their capacity. If you would like to help build women’s associations’ know-how , or if your association could benefit from getting a mentor, let us know!
Posted in Global
Tagged capacity building, IWD, mentorship, women, women's associations
The CIPE Development Blog provides coverage of the Center for International Private Enterprise and its partner network at work -- highlighting successes, drawing out lessons from failure, and exploring the broader issues of political and economic development. For more information visit CIPE.org.
