During this important meeting, FCEM (the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs) provided an overview of its mission and its organisation and presented its ongoing diverse projects, programmes and activities, including: access and utilisation of ICT, the promotion of micro-credit ; the development of the network of women entrepreneurs and lobbying activities targeted at the international institutions. The Forum centered on introducing FCEM to the extended European Union institutions permitted FCEM to establish important contact and relations with the representatives of the ACP-EU space and beyond, including : the ACP Secretariat, CDE Center for the Development of Enterprise, PROINVEST ACP-EU development programme, European Commission, European Investment Bank, EuropeAid, EBCAM- European Business, Council for Africa and the Mediterranean, BIO Belgian Investment Organism for 120 developing countries for the financing of SMEs, and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The FCEM World President Françoise Foning, who gave the opening speech and who presided over the debates, was accompanied by FCEM Vice-President Dior Diop of Senegal, as well as by Micheline Briclet President FCEB, Chantal Lobert President AEMfe (FCEM Micro-Credit programme) and Tereza Hägerström-Danan of the FCEM Secretariat Tunis who made presentations on the subjects of: the reduction of the digital divide through a pilot programme for the training in Internet technologies (the FCEM-CandGo Platforms) supported by the African Development Bank in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the FCEM association members from the ACP countries and Stratinfo developer of the Internet platforms ; the reduction of poverty through the establishment of an FCEM micro-credit structure AEMfe (European micro-credit association for women entrepreneurs); the FCEM WEWIN (Women Entrepreneurs ‘’Window of Opportunity’’) for the reinforcement of the sustainability, the capacities and the competence of the FCEM national associations and the individual woman entrepreneur.

Enriching debates followed and contacts consolidated with certain already bearing fruit. As a result of the Forum, the ACP proposes that FCEM organise a workshop on November 14, 2006 on the theme « Promotion of ACP women in business » at the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. The fund BIO proposes to explore the interest of FCEM members for their financial instruments for SMEs from the 120 countries eligible for the BIO development fund.