Remarks by Mrs. Joyce H. Banda, Executive Director of NABW

On the occasion of the announcement of the winners of the Africa Prize in Blantyre, Malawi, July 11, 1998

Your Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi

Dr Bakili Muluzi & Madam Muluzi

Your Honour the Vice President J, Malewazi & Mrs Malewezi

Dr. Peter Bourne - Vice Chairman of the Global Board of The Hunger Project

Your Lordship the Chief Justice

Honourable Ministers

Members of the Diplomatic Corp

Members of Parliament

Ladies & Gentlemen

Your Excellency 1997 was a milestone in the history of National Association of Business Women (NABW) and the best year of my life.

Therefore my privilege and honour that I rise this morning to take stock of what has happened during the year and to reaffirm my commitment to the movement towards Malawian Women's economic empowerment', gender equality and development.

But before I do that, permit me to take this opportunity to thank Your Excellency and Madam Muluzi publicly for hosting a reception in my honour at Sanjika Palace on the 9^th of April 1998. I also wish to thank Your Excellency for the Financial Support which gave to NABW from the time it was established in 1990 to the present day. In fact, during the preparation of this funciton, Your Excellency has given NABW tremendous support. We also wish to thank the Honourable Thomson for his support and encouragement during those days. This was when you were business leaders and nobody knew that one day Your Excellency would be President of this country. We also wish to acknowledge the support that we get from Your Government. EU, USAID, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and CIPE are organisations that have made it possible for NABW to be where it is today and on behalf of the women of this country, I say thank you.

After the award presentation ceremony in New York I was invited to attend the State of the World Forum where at the opening dinner I was introduced to the delegates and congratulated for jointly winning the Africa Prize. The World Forum seeks to bring together influential individuals from around the world and across a spectrum, of disciplines and values necessary to constructively address the great challenges of the coming decades. This Forum brings together people like Mr Michael Gorbachlev, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Mr Ted Turner, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Mr Thabo Mbeki Ambassador Andrew Young just to mention a few. When I came back home I was voted Woman of the Year. This, Your Excellency, was yet another humbling experience for me.

Winning the 1997 Africa Prize for the Sustainable End of Hunger was a great honour for me and I would hope too for my country. I became a global citizen overnight, and acquired an international family. In March this year UNIFEM sponsored me in my capacity as the Vice President of a Regional Organisation known as "Micro Fin Africa" to visit the Grameen Bank in BangIadesh which is a Bank for the poor which has reached 2,000,000 poor people with credit.

From Bangladesh I visited Japan.

The Hunger Project headquarters sent messages to both countries where several meetings and receptions were organized for me which gave me an opportunity to discuss with distinguished personalities such as the Minister of Lands & Housing in Bangladesh and the former Prime Minister of Japan Hon Kaifu and Former Foreign Minister of Japan Koji Kakizawa on issues that are directly related to my work in this country. I am saying all this to show my appreciation to the Hunger Project for opening all these doors for me.

Since the Award Ceremony NABW has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. We have intensified our programs, consolidated our sectors and our services to our members have been improved. As of 30^th June 1998 NABW had provided credit to 13,000 women. At the Micro Credit Summit in February 1997 in Washington where a global campaign to reach 100 million poor families with credit by the year 2005 was launched, NABW pledged to reach 10,000 woman with credit by December, 1997 and 17,000 women by December 1998. Your Excellency we are confident that with the continued support of your government and our donors, we should be able to meet that target.

We have also continued to successfully implement our project called "Private Sector Agenda for the Economic Empowerment of Women in Malawi". This project is designed to build and strengthen NABW's capacity as an independent organisation, to develop and bring into play a much expanded, more highly targeted and result oriented Private/Public Sector interaction.

Your Excellency under this project NABW has produced a Private sector focused plan of action for increasing the participation of women in the economic and political development of the country. The Project builds on NABW's experience with developing and expanding business opportunities for women. Many women that we have worked with over the past 8 years have moved up on to the main stream of the economy. NABW fully agrees with what the UNDP Human Development report states that the Economic Empowerment of Women, especially those living in poverty is one of the foundations on which sustainable human development must be built. Together with the political and social empowerment of women, it is the surest and only means of not only alleviating poverty in the short term but also of eradicating it and world hunger in the long term.

Your Excellency will be pleased to note that this afternoon after this function, NABW representatives from every district of this country will be deliberating on our organisational Development Capacity Building and income generating for the organisation. We wish to thank Your Excellency and UNDP for your support in this endeavour .

Your Excellency we wish to assure you that we shall continue to work hard and we intend to aggressively continue to seek funds for the provision of credit to women. Your Excellency, Professor Yunus of Grameen Bank sees credit for self employment as a "fundamental Human Right" a powerful weapon that grants one access to resources previously out of reach and hence a fair chance to improve ones economic situation. We are lucky that in 'this country the Government is also of this view and has made every effort to ensure that grassroot and poor people are having access to credit. But the decision to change one's situation must be made by the woman herself. I would therefore wish to end my speech by thanking my sisters from across the country who made the bold decision to change their situation. My sisters who refused to sit back and wait for handouts. All my sisters who decided to stand up and eradicate all the issues that violated their human dignity for so many years. I praise God that I was there when you made that decision. It has been a blessing for me to serve you.

Your Excellency finally permit NABW members to march past to show Your Excellency products made and sold by them. At the very end of the procession the Joyce Banda Foundation Youth Ending Hunger Committee, a school which. was founded using the Africa Prize Money, will march past. Thank you very much Your Excellency.