African Women Business Energy Network (AWBEN)

In its bid to improve women participation in the energy industry, as well as being a signatory of the Equal by 30 Campaign, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) remains committed to gender equality initiatives in the energy industry through practical support. The African Women Business Energy Network (AWBEN) is one of such initiatives which is a fully dedicated platform to support women across the energy industry. AWBEN is on a mission to increase the number of women-owned energy businesses in Africa and consequently drive direct business-money into the hands of women in the region.
 
To us, representation should never be the final goal, instead it should merely be the first step towards equity. Being the 'first' at anything is pointless if there aren’t efforts to address the systematic obstacles that prevents people or certain groups from succeeding in the first place. Hence, AWBEN is taking the lead into directly putting economic power in women’s hands and actively propagating the advancement of women in energy and women-owned organizations on the continent by inciting collaboration among African women, hosting mentorship and skill acquisition programs, offering sponsorship opportunities for girls in STEM, creating avenues to increase the number of women on boards of multinational and national across the energy value chain.