DALLAS — Former first lady Laura Bush spoke at a Dallas ceremony honouring more than two dozen women entrepreneurs from Afghanistan and Rwanda who completed business training this month in the U.S.

Mrs. Bush is expected to have spoken Tuesday morning at The Women’s Museum — culminating this year’s Peace Through Business program.

The program works to help Afghan and Rwandan women grow their business by providing business training, leadership development and mentoring.

Their training began this spring with eight weeks of mini-MBA classes in their home countries.

They arrived here three weeks ago for leadership development, mentoring and the first International Women’s Economic Summit, at Northwood University in Cedar Hill.

The 29 women graduate today in a ceremony at the Women’s Museum in Fair Park.

The theory is that they will gain skills and make contacts to help sustain their businesses, create jobs and provide an option to poverty and violence in their countries.

They already have leadership skills, but they need help creating business plans, innovating and understanding financials, said Terry Neese, chief executive of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women, based in Oklahoma City.

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