The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) handed over 430 thousand euros worth of slaughterhouse equipment to five abattoirs as part of the African Industrialization Day celebrations. Under the moniker "Accelerating Africa’s Industrialization through the Empowerment of Women in Processing for an Integrated Market “, leather industry stakeholders, which included abattoirs, tanneries, skins, and hides traders attended the event at SkyLight Hotel. Despite the fact that women make up the majority of the African population, their participation in industrialization is limited, according to Aurelia Calabaro, UNIDO representative and director of the regional office hub in Ethiopia, in her opening remarks. She went on to say that women in the industry face significant challenges, such as limited access to finance, absence of support institutions, restricted market access, a lack of skill sets for adopting modern processing techniques and limited access to modern technologies. Samrawit Mersiehazen, the owner of Samra Leather, reflected on the challenges she experiences as a designer due to the poor quality of the hides and skins, which affects both the quality and quantity of her product and her market access. “I lost a deal worth millions from a company in the United States,” Samrawit noted. According to Fekadu Regassa(PhD), State Minister of Agriculture, any economic transformation agenda would be incomplete without ensuring the inclusivity of women in all spheres of development.
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