Disrupting the Gender Divide - The Power of Online Platforms

“Disrupting the Gender Divide” will highlight how technology-driven online platforms can facilitate access for women entrepreneurs as providers and users of goods, services, and capital

The upcoming live event organized by the World Bank 'DISRUPTING THE GENDER DIVIDE-THE POWER OF ONLINE PLATFORM' will be held on April 19, 2018, at Atrium, World Bank Group Headquarters.

Across developing countries, women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face unique and significant hurdles to starting and growing their businesses. They are often shut out by financial institutions and face unfavorable business and regulatory environments along with a lack of networks and links to high-value markets. Now, some of these barriers are beginning to crumble, thanks to digital technologies that hold great promise for boosting economic opportunities for women.

Introduced by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and featuring two Ignite Talks by female entrepreneurs and a high-level panel discussion, "Disrupting the Gender Divide" will highlight how technology-driven online platforms can facilitate access for women entrepreneurs as providers and users of goods, services, and capital, and showcase how initiatives such as the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) are enabling women to overcome financial and other market barriers.

How can technology-driven online platforms disrupt the #gender divide in #entrepreneurship? Join the conversation LIVE April 19, 16:00-17:00 ET | 20:00 – 21:00 GMT: #WeFi #IFCMarkets #EmpowerWomen https://t.co/0L7Bf3vGb1 #WBGMeetings pic.twitter.com/KwahLhPrUn

— World Bank Live (@WorldBankLive) April 13, 2018

Seventy percent of formal women-owned SMEs in developing countries are either shut out of financial institutions or can't get the capital they need.This results in a nearly $300 billion annual credit deficit for formal women-owned SMEs.We-Fi intends to change those statistics. Its holistic approach will help women in developing countries gain increased access to the finance, markets, and networks necessary to start and grow a business.

Internet user penetration rates (the number of Internet users as a percentage of the total population) are higher for men than for women in all regions of the world with the smallest gaps observed in the Americas and the CIS regions, at 1.8% and 5.1% respectively. The largest gaps are found in the Asia-Pacific (16.9%), the Arab
States (20 percent), and Africa (23 percent), according to International Telecommunications Union.

Digital platforms have a great role to play in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by providing access to information and life-enhancing opportunities to every individual.