IFC and Goldman Sachs initiative invests USD 1 bn for women entrepreneurs

The facility is part of the World Bank’s overall strategy to promote gender equality and ensure the social and economic welfare of one-half of the world’s population.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 18-05-2018 21:43 IST | Created: 18-05-2018 21:32 IST
IFC and Goldman Sachs initiative invests USD 1 bn for women entrepreneurs
IFC, Goldman Sachs Initiative Invests USD 1 billion in Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets. (Image Credit: Twitter)

IFC, a sister organization of the World Bank and Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking firm have invested more than USD 1 billion in women entrepreneurs in emerging markets, delivering much-needed capital to small businesses and far surpassing the facility’s original goal of USD 600 million. 

The Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF) was launched back in 2014 by IFC and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program and is the first of its kind to be dedicated exclusively to financing women-owned small and medium businesses in developing countries.

The initiative was started with an initial investment of USD 100 million from IFC and USD 32 million from the Goldman Sachs Foundation. WEOF provides lines of credit that allow financial institutions in developing countries to reach more women-owned businesses and also assist these institutions better understand the commercial viability of loans to underserved women entrepreneurs and the role small businesses can play in their own growth strategies. 

“This partnership and creation of the WEOF was a natural extension of our 10,000 Women initiative, and directly informed by the feedback of our alumni who indicated a need to increase access to credit,” said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman, and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group. “We want to disrupt the traditions of the local banking system by providing financial incentives for these banks to put more energy into evaluating female-owned businesses, he added.

The facility is part of the World Bank’s overall strategy to promote gender equality and ensure the social and economic welfare of one-half of the world’s population. WEOF has already reached 50,000 women entrepreneurs through the financial institutions it invested in, with a goal of reaching 100,000 over 10 years. 

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