U.S. Award Winning Social Entrepreneur to Visit PNG

Marga Fripp Photo Supplied 

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: The U.S. Embassy will host MargaFripp, founder and president of Empowered Women International on November 4-8 in Port Moresby and Madang.

As part of the U.S. Embassy’s Women’s Empowerment Speaker Series, Marga Fripp will deliver remarks, lead workshops, and engage with local media to raise awareness of women’s critical role in the country’s economic development.She will give keynote remarks at the launch of the first ever PNG Women’s Chamber of Commerce.  She will lead marketing workshops for female SME ownersand confidence-building workshops for informal female micro-entrepreneurs. Marga’s visit will also feature a public engagement with young leaders at Pacific Adventist University to motivate them to pursue their passions and become change agents. 

The United States is fully committed to providing skill-building and professional development opportunities for women in Papua New Guinea.  MargaFripp’s visit to Papua New Guinea is sponsored by the American people through the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs' (IIP) Speaker Program.  The IIP Speakers Program allows American experts to engage with foreign audiences around the world through lectures, workshops, and seminars on U.S. policies, society, and culture.

MargaFrippis an award-winning social entrepreneur with over 19 years of experience in solving social problems through arts, innovation, and entrepreneurship.  Marga created Empowered Women International (EWI) to give a voice and create entrepreneurial opportunities for immigrant, refugee, and other marginalized women.  Marga’s effective and passionate leadership turned EWI from a volunteer-run program to an award-winning organization with more than 3,500 supporters, over 2,500 women beneficiaries, and more than one million dollars generated in donated services.  Empowered Women International was named “one of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region” by the Catalogue for Philanthropy.

Marga is passionate about training, coaching, and inspiring women artists, artisans, and creative entrepreneurs to pursue their passions.  She has worked with thousands of women in the United States and internationally, and helped them to start up or grow businesses that fuel innovation, opportunity, and social change.  

As a former journalist, Marga produced programs that focused on women’s equality, human rights and integration solutions for orphans and street children during the difficult first years of Romania’s transition from Communism.  Her efforts, combined with the Association for the Promotion of Women in Romania’s three years of legislative advocacy, led to a national Domestic Violence Bill signed into law by the Romanian Parliament in May 2003.

Marga completed a graduate certification in Business Administration at the Open University in the United Kingdom and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Journalism from the University of Maryland University College.