Nigest Haile
Tribute
Nigest Haile accelerates women's economic empowerment across Ethiopia while ensuring her children's development never experiences scarcity of maternal attention. Beyond her entrepreneurial advocacy, we honour the business skills taught through allowance management, the networking facilitated through family dinner conversations, and the start-up capital of confidence she's invested in each of their senses of possibility.
Profile
Nigest Haile is a prominent advocate for women’s economic empowerment, with a career spanning over four decades. She is the founder and executive director of the Center for Accelerated Women’s Economic Empowerment (CAWEE), an organisation dedicated to supporting African women entrepreneurs. She began her professional journey as a gender expert at the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry, eventually rising to Director of the Women’s Affairs Department. Nigest is also a founding member of Enat Bank, Ethiopia’s women’s commercial bank, and serves on advisory boards of the Global Economic Forum for Women in Africa, Healing Hands of Joy, and as a Trustee at the Hailemariam & Roman Foundation and Opportunity International. Nigest is married and has children. She emphasizes the importance of volunteerism and community service, values she has instilled in her family. In an interview, she mentioned that her children are involved in various volunteer activities, such as participating in the Rotary Club.