26 October 2019, Skopje- Minister of Finance Nina Angelovska, as an ambassador of UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women brought the first e-commerce for women masterclass in the region

More than 50 female entrepreneurs attend the first masterclass out of the series of e-trade masterclasses at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), being held these two days in Skopje, which will be followed by similar sessiomns in China, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Rwanda and the Ivory Coast. This is the only masterclass out of the series of masterclasses to be held in Europe. 

The objective of the masterclass is for the 7 UNCTAD women ambassadors selected from all around the world, to convey the message for the role of digital trade in the development of female entrepreneurship and their inclusion and encouragement of economic growth. 

-It is my utmost pleasure that the Masterclass “eTrade For Women” Initiative starts exactly from the Republic of North Macedonia. Due to the low participation of women on the labour market, the region losses 20% of the GDP growth, while the country loses 16% as indicated by the World Bank data. If we take this into account, we should create smart policies for greater inclusion of women, equal chances and opportunities for all contributing to higher economic growth. I would like to encourage all women to aim high, to believe in themselves, to take advantage of the potential of technologies and digitalization and to constantly upgrade themselves. The new fast digital world requires interdisciplinary requests, bringing new challenges, however at the end of the day, each challenge we faced make us stronger and more experienced. – Minister of Finance Angelovska said. 

-Women entrepreneurs cope with numerous barriers such as access to finances, skills and support for business growth, especially in the developing countries. The eTrade for Women Initiative is aimed at creating strong network of women and inspire women to take advantage of the opportunities and get involved in the digital economy. – Candace Nkoth Bisseck, Project Manager of the UNCTAD eTrade for Women Initiative said.

During the Masterclass, lectures in the field of digital trade will be held by top experts and motivators coming from world renowned companies. Discussions at the sessions, will be related to the challenges for growth of online business, market analysis, optimization, marketing of social media and converting data in analytics and knowledge. 

Anyway, Angelovska is the only representative from Europe who received the recognition “Advocate of UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women Initiative“, as co-founder of  the first e-commerce platform Gropuper.mk of this kind in the Republic of North Macedonia. Other selected women-ambassadors for digital trade are: Xiaofei Yao from China, founder and CEO of Rogrand; Claudia de Heredia from Mexico, co-founder and COO of Kichnik, Helianti Hilman from Indonesia, founder and CEO of Javara, Nazanin Daneshvar from Iran, founder and CEO of Takhfifan and Clarisse Iribagiza from Rwanda, founder and CEO of DM.HeHe.

 The initiative through which UNCTAD selected the women-ambassadors of digital trade – eTrade for Women Initiative, is aimed at encouraging the economic growth and reducing poverty in developing countries by combining the benefits from the technology and the female entrepreneurship. 

This Initiative is financially supported by UNCTAD and the Dutch Government, and the Masterclass in Skopje is organized in cooperation with the E-Commerce Association as well.