The University of Nairobi in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched a Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Hub on Wednesday December 16, 2020.

The WEE hub will be domiciled at the African Women’s Study centre at the UoN.

While presiding over the launch, Prof. Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Youth and Gender applauded the move saying, “The ministry recognizes that there may be limited number of strong institutions working on or focusing on women’s economic empowerment and producing research and evidence using robust, rigorous methods and techniques that this Hub promises to offer. The government will therefore benefit a lot from research that can inform the revision of policies and legislative frameworks to enable us to serve the women of Kenya in a more efficient and effective manner.”

“The research that will be generated by the hub will be crucial for supporting development of policies and programs that will be important for our people. As a government we acknowledge that empowering women economically is a key component of sustainable development. I am pleased to see a Women’s Economic Empowerment Hub that will provide evidence on what works for women in economic empowerment as this will be very useful for us in the Ministry as we seek to fulfill our mandate.As a Ministry in charge of gender affairs, we strive to empower women and promote gender equity and equality with the aim of improving the lives of Kenyans,” she noted.

On his part, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama pledged the management’s support to the researchers. He noted, “As the University’s leadership, we shall offer the necessary support in the coordination, administration and logistical support to ensure the WEE Hub is a great success and the skills acquired by the research team.”

The Vice Chancellor expressed his belief, “We at the University believe that the WEE Hub is the first step towards many other engagements between the two institutions. As a research institution we look forward to our continued engagement and will explore new opportunities towards the same.”

The WEE Hub is multi-disciplinary & multi-sectoral & will serve as a research & evidence hub, with the aim of strengthening the generation and use of evidence to advance women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and gender equality in Kenya.

Prof. Kabira, Chair of the African Women’s Studies Centre expressed gratitude, “The establishment of the WEE Hub has been a journey, a journey that is worthwhile; A big thank you to all those who have been part of this journey.”