Two trainees from Ethiopia were invited to Japan under the UNIDO ITPO Tokyo’s “Industrial Vocational Training Programme in Africa through Technology Transfer from Japan” and completed the training in January 2024 to learn Japanese sewing techniques for female sanitary shorts. In Ethiopia, some women face the challenges of not having access to sanitary products due to economic and other reasons. The purpose of this programme is to contribute to solving these challenges by building the capacity of industrial workers in the sewing sector and providing access to such products.

The trainees from Ethiopia are Mr. Gebeye Teshome Kasegn and Mr. Gezahegn Asfaw Mulugeta, instructors in charge of sewing training at the non-profit organization called Selam Children’s Village in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.

Be-A Japan and ITOCHU Corporation collaborated on this project to provide training in sewing techniques for female sanitary shorts. The two trainees learned sewing techniques such as how to cut and sew fabric and use equipment, select suitable materials for hygienic products, manage materials, and calculate manufacturing costs. They also visited a factory that manufactures innerwear products, and attended a detailed lecture by Be-A Japan about “period”, which not only women but also men should know about.

 

On the final day of the training, a closing ceremony was held at United Nations University, attended by the project members, representatives from the Embassy of Ethiopia in Japan and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, the project’s donor Mr. Eylgn Serebe Biyadglgn, Third Secretary of the Embassy, gave opening remarks, in which he expressed his gratitude to the Government of Japan, UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, Be-A Japan and ITOCHU Corporation.

Mr. Kasegn, who completed the training, said, “Through this training, I was able to acquire theoretical knowledge about sewing techniques. I hope to share this experience and knowledge in future training programmes in Ethiopia”. Mr. Mulugeta remarked, “I gained a lot of knowledge and skills. Women’s sanitary shorts are very important for women in Ethiopia. We would like to support women in Ethiopia to manufacture this product as a job in the future.”

Ms. Kumi Takahashi, CEO of Be-A Japan, noted, “There are approximately 4 billion women in this world. In general, women has period for at least over 30 years of their lives. Despite this, “period” is still a taboo subject in both Japan and Ethiopia. We hope to change this situation with our sanitary shorts and support Ethiopian women through this programme.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Shohei Yamashita of ITOCHU Corporation stated, “In Ethiopia, disposable products are difficult to spread because the country is landlocked and transportation costs are high. Since these sanitary shorts can be used repeatedly and have little environmental impact, they are a product that fits the needs of Ethiopia. We would like to encourage women’s empowerment by providing employment opportunities for those who participate in our training in Ethiopia and by contributing to society through the spread of shorts. We would also like to link this to our own business”.

In 2024, the two trainees will serve as trainers in this project, and the skills they learned in Japan will be transferred to train 100 industrial workers in Ethiopia.