Cherie Blair warns of EU blowback
CHERIE Blair, the wife of former prime minister of Britain, Tony Blair, believes that the country’s vote last week to leave the European Union will hit entrepreneurs.
“Obviously [entrepreneurs are going to be affected] because they are part of the economy and a lot of the women we support are looking actively to trade and many of them are developing their products to make them attractive for the European market,” said Cherie Blair.
“What I have appreciated before I came here [South Africa] before the referendum is that many Commonwealth countries, including SA, use the UK as their access to the European market.
“And clearly now we [the UK] have to work hard to ensure that for the sake of the UK and our wider world relationships that we maintain that access to the single market,” Blair told Sowetan, saying she had voted to remain in the EU.
She said the questions that would have to be dealt with included how to protect trading opportunities for African countries and the UK.
“We have to always grasp challenges and these challenges are also opportunities to actually really engage and make sure that we get the right possible relationship for Britain and Europe for the benefit of both,” she said.
Blair was in SA for her foundation’s women’s economic empowerment seminar at Melrose Arch yesterday.
The foundation specialises in cross-border mentoring for businesswomen across the world.
A study conducted on behalf of the foundation showed that cross-border mentoring played a vital role for women who are unable to get guidance in countries they live in. It also showed that 92% of businesswomen who participated in the study learnt new skills and 72% saw the revenue of their business improve as a result of the mentorship programme.