Barbara Barrett Visits the Coalition of Women Business Associations in Romania (CAFA)

Barbara Barrett witnessed the creation and evolution of CAFA; she participated in 2004 in the Annual Meeting of the Women Entrepreneurs in Romania supported by CIPE, when she talked about leadership and will, about dedication and determination. Her speech in front of more than 100 Romanian businesswomen reached these ladies at the right time, just after the creation of CAFA, the Coalition of Women Business Associations.

In 2004, with CIPE support, some women business associations created the Coalition of Women Business Associations (CAFA). The story started with nine associations, very determined to create one voice of women entrepreneurs, to participate in public policy, and have relevant input in the creation of sound economic policy in Romania. When Mrs. Barbara Barrett came to Romania and participated in this annual conference, CAFA was just at the beginning, a new initiative that had to build a future and prove its value.

Mrs. Barrett came back to Romania in 2006, and met CAFA again. Now we are talking about a coalition that had increased membership, had participated in public policy debates, organized itself as an informal coalition with a communication center, a Secretariat initially supported by CIPE Romania office. At that time, CIPE was engaged in an intense capacity-building program for the CAFA members, in order to prepare them for becoming a stand alone entity.

In March 2009 Mrs. Barbara Barrett visited Romania for the third time, and met with CAFA and CIPE Regional Office in Bucharest, Romania. Now CAFA is a stand alone informal organization, with nineteen members, all women business organizations throughout Romania, engaged in public policy advocacy. CIPE is no longer supporting the coalition. The Coalition preserved its informal structure, as members considered the flexibility of an informal structure gives them better changes to act on common issues, without creating additional bureaucracy. The Secretariat is assigned annually to an association member, on a rotation basis.

Next week, CAFA members will meet in Timisoara, in the western part of Romania, hosted by the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Romania, the 2009 CAFA Secretariat; one very important topic on their agenda is CAFA preparing a position paper on fighting recent Government attempts to increase taxes. For CAFA, the next meeting is not only about sharing experience, it is also about building a common voice to support the interests of the Romanian entrepreneurs.

Last week, CAFA members were very proud to share with Mrs. Barrett their accomplishments, and their progress as entrepreneurs and businesswomen. In five years, we have witnessed the evolution of a Coalition that with CIPE support has gathered the knowledge and skills to participate in public policy advocacy in a professional manner.

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