Businesswomen founders and businesswomen have gathered in Juba for a two-day Women's Convention aimed at creating a forum for both groups to share experiences and learn from each other.

Organized by Triple A Group, Female Founders Initiative Middle East & Africa (FFI-MEA) and South Sudan Women Entrepreneurs, the event has brought together businesswomen from across the East African region to share their experiences.

Speaking during the opening session in Juba on Thursday, Atong Amos, the Chief Executive Officer of Triple A Group, a petroleum services company incorporated in South Sudan, said the purpose of conducting the convention is to ensure South Sudanese young businesswomen learn from their senior colleagues.

“We business leaders in the country have taken charge to change the fortune of youth, girls and women in participation as such. And so, Triple A Group has partnered with Female Founders Initiative Middle East and Africa to create a forum for businesswomen founders and businesswomen in general in order to acquire knowledge from those who have gone ahead in business,” she said.

According to Atong, the convention is to ensure businesswomen showcase their products and services, interact among themselves and share experiences.

“We aim to hold this conference as frequently as possible to ensure continuity in providing knowledge to our businesswomen and where necessary, to provide guidance to them,” she explained.

According to the CEO, businesswomen shall also take the event as an opportunity to question people in authority, especially government officials, on the need to provide a safe environment for them to operate their businesses.

For his part, Dhieu Mathok, the minister for Investment, commended the Triple A Group for hosting the convention, saying the government is committed to working with women entrepreneurs.

“I want to assure them that we are committed to providing better coordination on government activities and policies at national and state levels in order to strengthen the business environment in the country,” Mathok said.  

The convention comes three days after the parliamentarians summoned three national ministers, including the minister of Investment on their failure to implement the third schedule of the Investment Promotion Act 2009.

Minister Mathok also revealed his ministry’s plan to develop a policy framework to establish and map business opportunities in the country.