By Jenifer James
At the recent East Africa Community micro, small, and medium enterprise trade fair—known as the Jua Kali/Nguvu KAZI exhibition—South Sudanese women entrepreneurs made their voices heard, advocating for essential support to foster the growth of their businesses. This year marked the 24th iteration of the event, which serves as a vital platform for showcasing small businesses across the East African region.
One of the standout voices at the fair was Rose Tabu, a passionate member of the Food For All (FFA) cooperative, during an exclusive interview with King Media on Monday, Rose Tabu articulated the urgent need for both government and non-governmental organizations to invest in women-led initiatives.
“We need support as women for our businesses to thrive as cooperatives,” Rose stated. “Our vision is to feed all of South Sudan. With the right backing, we can achieve this goal.”
The impact of empowering women entrepreneurs extends beyond individual success; it is critical for the economic development of South Sudan as a whole. By supporting women-led initiatives, the government and NGOs can help create jobs, enhance food security, and drive sustainable development. “Investing in women is investing in the future of our country,” Rose asserted. “When women succeed, everyone benefits.”
Meanwhile, mama Amal Bol, one of the businesswomen in the country, highlights taxes by the Juba city council are among the challenges facing business women, adding that the taxes are abnormal compared to previous years.
“We are facing challenges in our business, one of which is high taxes by the Juba city council, which block other women from doing business in the country,’’ she said
The first Trade Fair was held in Arusha in November 1999 during the historical event of the signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. After the success of the Arusha Trade Fair, the EAC Heads of State directed that the Trade Fair be held annually on a rotational basis among the EAC Partner States to enhance and revamp the socio-economic integration of the people of East Africa, opening up new market frontiers for their products while bridging up the knowledge and technological gaps between them.
Since then, annual exhibitions have been held in Nairobi (2000 and 2001), Kampala (2002), Dar-es-Salaam (2003), Mombasa (2004), Kampala (2005), Dar es Salaam (2006), Nairobi 2007, Kigali (2008) Dar es Salaam (2009), Kampala (2011), Bujumbura (2012), Nairobi (2013), Kigali (2014), Dar es Salaam 2015), Kampala (2016), Bujumbura (2017), Eldoret (2018), Kigali (2019), Mwanza (2021), Kampala (2022) and Bujumbura (2023).