Program Theme Spotlight: Women’s Empowerment

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Participants from the

Women’s empowerment has long  been recognized as a pillar of successful economic, social and community development.  Since the 1946 U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, the international development community has focused research and attention on women’s rights in political, economic, social and educational fields, and one of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals focuses on Gender equality and women’s empowerment.

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African Women: Leaders in the Economy and Society

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AWEP 2018 participants celebrate their kick-off week in Washington, DC

Expanding markets. Ensuring quality control. Accessing supply and value chains. Broadening networks. Addressing management challenges. Showcasing women’s leadership. And yes, advocating for change. These are topics that a dynamic group of African women entrepreneurs are focusing on during their visit to the U.S. as part of the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP). AWEP was launched, in conjunction with the 2010 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Every year, U.S. Embassies in Sub-Saharan Africa nominate leading women entrepreneurs to participate. While in the U.S., the group...

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A-MAZE-ing Women Entrepreneurs from the Middle East/North Africa

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Observing International Women’s Day at Meridian with Amb. Cathy Russell, Ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues at the Department of State.

Ahlan wa sahlan, is one of what I referred to as my five Arabic expressions at the start of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women / U.S. Department of State Entrepreneurship Program for Women in the Middle East and North Africa. Welcome!

It was my honor to welcome 29 extraordinary women entrepreneurs for a two-week exchange program in which they received training, mentoring, advice, and more than a little bit of snow (February, after all). What they brought, however, was much broader, much richer, and definitely more lasting than the winter’s snow. Continue