Indego Africa Country Director Keith Casey Cobell Attends 2012 Dialogue for Action Africa in Gabon

The 2012 Dialogue for Action Africa (DFAA) forum in Libreville, Gabon, was hosted by the Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women in association with Mrs. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, First Lady of Gabon. It brought together a well-rounded community of women and men from the African continent and around the world in the fields of business, health, education, non-profit, government, media, and security to collaborate and make a Plan for Action for Africa. 

At the 2012 DFAA, Indego Africa was truly honored to share with attendees our experiences in empowering women and woman-owned businesses in Africa through social enterprise. 

The 2012 DFAA brought together hundreds of influential leaders from across the continent and even eight African first ladies, including the First Lady of Rwanda Jeannette Kagame. The 2012 DFAA served as a dynamic platform upon which to create sustainable solutions, a Plan for Action for Africa, to be presented at the 2012 G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. 

As part of the “Action for Women’s Access to Business and Entrepreneurship” panel, Indego Africa’s Rwanda Country Director Keith Casey Cobell presented Indego Africa’s economic development model that combines market access linkages with business-centric education. Cobell also stressed the central importance of marrying education with market access – or other income-generation – to more fully empower women across Africa. During his talk, Cobell introduced to great fanfare Emelienne Nyiramana of Indego Africa partner cooperative, Cocoki, and Grace Tsuni, Indego Africa’s newest staff member, each of whom were on hand in in Libreville.

Watch the "Action for Women's Access to 
Business and Entrepreneurship" panel:

Video courtesy of Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women.

Indego Africa deeply valued the opportunity to participate in the 2012 DFAA and to help brainstorm with other continental thought leaders on how to address the most pressing needs facing women in Africa. Dialogue such as what took place at the 2012 DFAA can play a critical role in ensuring that one of Africa’s greatest resources – it’s women – have the tools and access they need to better their lives, their families’ lives, and to accelerate Africa’s development.