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March 6, 2008
Investing in 10000 Women
Yesterday, Goldman Sachs announced a new $100 million initiative to increase business and financial education among women in the developing world. The 10,000 Women initiative has 6 points:
* 10,000 Women Over Five Years Will Receive a Business and Management Education: Over the next five years, Goldman Sachs will support partnerships with universities and development organizations that will lead to 10,000 women receiving a business and management education. The initial partnerships will fund business and management education certificates in countries around the world. These innovative certificate programs are pragmatic, flexible and shorter term and will help open doors for thousands of women whose financial and practical circumstances prevent them from ever receiving a traditional business education. These programs will provide women with the opportunity to develop specific skills, such as drafting a business plan, accounting, public speaking, marketing, management and accessing capital. There will also be a select number of MBA and BA scholarships funded.
* Build Quality and Capacity Through Global Business Sister School Partnerships: To strengthen the quality and capacity of business schools in developing nations, Goldman Sachs will support new partnerships between business schools and universities in the United States and Europe and business schools in developing and emerging economies. Through these partnerships, the schools will collaborate to train professors, exchange faculty, develop curriculum and create local case study material.
* Establish Mentoring and Post-Graduation Support for Women Entrepreneurs: In addition to funding tuition for business and management education, 10,000 Women will seek to establish mentoring and networking channels for women and to encourage career development opportunities that will extend the benefits of the program beyond the classroom, leveraging the overall impact of their educational experience.
* Work with Leading Research and Women's Development Organizations: Many outstanding organizations are working on the ground to give girls, young women and potential entrepreneurs a sense of their future potential. 10,000 Women will work with these organizations to better understand the local challenges these girls and women must overcome so more of them can ultimately realize their potential through access to greater economic opportunity.
* Develop Partnerships in the United States to Help Disadvantaged Women: As part of 10,000 Women, Goldman Sachs will establish parallel programs and partnerships to provide more business and management education for disadvantaged women in the United States.
* Commit $100 Million in Addition to the Time and Dedication of Goldman Sachs People: Goldman Sachs will commit $100 million over the next five years to 10,000 Women. In addition, the people of Goldman Sachs will contribute their time and expertise through classroom instruction and mentoring.
10, 000 Women Initial Academic Partners Include:
* American University of Afghanistan
* American University in Cairo
* Brown University
* Columbia Business School
* Harvard Business School
* Indian School of Business
* Pan-African University, Nigeria
* School of Finance and Banking, Rwanda
* Stanford Graduate School of Business
* Thunderbird School of Global Management
* United States International University, Kenya
* University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business
* Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
* University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
* William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan
* The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
As Business Week points out, the program is a key compliment to existing efforts:
Thousands of women entrepreneurs in developing countries have started their own businesses in the past few years, many with help from local microfinance banks and nonprofits that issued them small loans and financial support. The concept has taken off, but there has been one key flaw in the model: Most of the women have little, if any, formal education and lack the management skills and financial savvy to take their business to the next level.
What a wonderful example of investing in an intangible!
Posted by Ken Jarboe at March 6, 2008 8:44 AM
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