In commemoration of the International Women’s Day, the HeForShe official pinning of male Heads of Agencies was organized on March 9th 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia officially launched the HeForShe Movement on December 28, 2015 under the leadership of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWCA). The launch, which was endorsed by the Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, was able to bring on board other high level government representatives, CEOs, University Presidents, community and religious leaders as well as renowned Athlete as HeForShe champions for Ethiopia. Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie, UN Resident Coordinator in Ethiopia, provided pins to all male Heads of Agencies during an official ceremony on March 9th when each head of agency made a commitment to uphold the values promoted by the HeFor She campaign. Accepting the pin, Dmitry Pozhidaev, UNCDF Acting Regional Coordinator, reconfirmed the UNCDF commitment to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

Through YouthStart, UNCDF improved access to financial and non-financial services for young people through a partnership with 2 FSPs in Ethiopia. These Microfinance Institution (MFIs) reached over 307,000 young people, of which 52% are young girls and women and over 50% are below 18 years old. About 500,000 women and girls benefitted from small-scale market-oriented infrastructure in the framework of the Programme for Enhancing Public Service Delivery implemented by UNCDF in 22 developing districts. In the future, UNCDF is planning to launch the Inclusive and Equitable Local Development (IELD) programme targeting women’s economic empowerment through mobilization of public and private finance.