UN Women convenes Second EmpowerHer Conference in Nairobi to drive action on women’s economic empowerment.
Date:
Nairobi, 2 March 2026 – UN Women convened over 300 stakeholders at the Second Annual EmpowerHer Conference to advance decent work and entrepreneurship. The full day conference, held at the Mövenpick Hotel and Residences in Nairobi, brought together senior government officials, private sector leaders, women entrepreneurs, UN agencies, civil society and academia.
The EmpowerHer Conference is a landmark high-visibility event convened under the UAE-UN Women Strategic Partnership Framework (2024-2027), specifically its component on Accelerating Women’s Economic Empowerment in Africa and Latin America. The partnership promotes women’s access to economic opportunities in Kenya, Chile and at the global level through promoting gender-responsive procurement, the selection of services, goods and civil works that considers their impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
In the high-level opening, speakers highlighted the transformative impact of gender-responsive procurement and the critical role of governments, the private sector and women’s organizations in driving system-wide change.
Empowering women means a stronger, developed, and advanced nation. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening gender-responsive procurement frameworks and ensuring devolution drives inclusive economic transformation. – Dr. Moses N. Kiarie - Governor of Nyandarua County.
Antonia N’Gabala-Sodonon, Country Representative, UN Women Kenya similarly urged key stakeholders to deepen and scale efforts to create enabling environments for women entrepreneurs to safely access local, regional and global markets.“Gender-responsive procurement creates enabling ecosystems for women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses to thrive, compete, and drive economic development”, said Ms. Sodonon.
Since the inception of Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO), women have received 52% of AGPO contracts. Kenya’s e-Government Procurement system verifies AGPO certificates and registration status to safeguard affirmative action.” – Kinoti Bartholomew, National Treasury Representative.
Discussions highlighted that despite these gains, women still face barriers in procurement processes. Public procurement alone is estimated to be worth US$13 trillion annually, accounting for 15-20 per cent of global gross domestic product. Globally one in three small and medium-size enterprises are women-owned, yet women only win an estimated one per cent of the procurement spend of large corporations and governments.
“In Chile, partnerships between government, the private sector, and UN Women are leveraging innovation and digital tools to connect women-led businesses to national and global markets, advancing gender equality and inclusive growth.” Javiera Vergara, Programme Coordinator, UN Women Chile.
“At UN Women, we are rising to meet these challenges with bold ambition, clear strategy, and unwavering commitment. Our Economic Empowerment Strategy is a roadmap to ensure every woman has income security, decent work, and the autonomy to thrive”, said Seemin Qayum, Chief a.i., Economic Empowerment, UN Women.
The UAE-UN Women Strategic Partnership Framework represents a joint commitment to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in Kenya, Chile and beyond.