NCW, UN Women, Canadian Embassy Highlight Achievements of “Rabeha” Women’s Empowerment Programme

A delegation from the National Council for Women (NCW) and UN Women Egypt, joined representatives from the Embassy of Canada on a field visit to Alexandria governorate to meet with several participants of “Rabeha” programme, within the framework of the Embassy’s commemoration of Canada Day.

This visit confirms the strong partnership among key stakeholders to support Egyptian women in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Egypt’s Vision 2030.

The delegation included H.E. Ulric Shannon, the Ambassador of Canada to Egypt; Ms. Marwa Alameldeen, Officer-in-Charge at UN Women Egypt and Ms. Nora Rafea, “Rabeha” Programme Manager at UN Women Egypt.

As part of the visit, the delegation had a tour at a leather products factory established by Suzanne Gamal, one of the participants in “Rabeha”. Suzanne received several trainings on entrepreneurship and business management, which strengthened her skills to be able to run and expand her enterprise.

During the tour, Suzanne reflected on her experience with “Rabeha” and highlighted how the programme contributed to the success of her business and enhanced her financial independence.

The visit also featured an interactive discussion session at Bibliotheca Alexandrina with a number of women entrepreneurs and job seekers participating in “Rabeha” programme. The participants shared their success stories and discussed the challenges they faced to establish and grow their businesses and the various stages they went through across their professional journey. They also reflected on how “Rabeha” programme has strengthened their skills to build and scale up their enterprises, enhance their access to decent employment opportunities, and advance their careers.

“I am truly inspired by the remarkable success of Ms. Suzanne Gamal and the transformative impact of the Rabeha Project. This initiative not only empowers women entrepreneurs but also strengthens communities by fostering economic growth and innovation. Canada is proud to partner with UN Women and local organizations in supporting women like Ms. Gamal, who lead with vision, resilience, and determination. Their achievements highlight the vital role of inclusive and sustainable development, and we look forward to seeing this enterprise, and many others, continue to grow and inspire future generations of women in Egypt”, stated H.E. Ulric Shannon, the Ambassador of Canada to Egypt.

“Rabeha programme has succeeded in achieving remarkable results, establishing multi-stakeholder partnerships and creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for over 10,000 women across seven governorates since its launch in 2020. This led to enhancing the women’s skills and strengthening their capacities to join the labor market through taking consistent and sustainable steps,” stated Ms. Marwa Alameldeen, Officer-in-Charge at UN Women Egypt.

It is worth mentioning that “Rabeha” joint programme has been implemented across seven governorates (Cairo, Giza, Beheira, Alexandria, Fayoum, Beni Suef, and Minya) through providing tailored package of services required by various stakeholders in the Egyptian labor market by offering opportunities for capacity development and growth for women job seekers and entrepreneurs, private sector companies, and investors, in cooperation with government institutions and labor market actors. This programme is implemented by UN Women and UNIDO, in partnership with the National Council for Women, the Ministry of Industry and medium small and micro enterprises development agency (MSMEDA), with the generous support of the Government of Canada.