Women Entrepreneurs: What Really Helps Them Start and Grow Businesses?

 
Panelists

Caren Grown, Senior Director for Gender, World Bank
Karen Mathiasen, Acting US Executive Director, World Bank
Rebecca Ruf, VP of Programs, Global Banking Alliance for Women
Elizabeth Vazquez, CEO and Co-Founder, WEConnect International

Moderator

Nancy Lee, Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development

Policymakers in rich and poor countries interested in boosting growth increasingly view women entrepreneurs as an underutilized asset. The launch of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Facility (We-Fi) at the G20 Summit is one example of a major initiative to mobilize more than $1 billion to help women start and grow businesses. But, beyond the scale of resources, important questions about how they are allocated need to be addressed.

Please join a panel of distinguished thought and practice leaders from the World Bank, WeConnect, and the Global Banking Alliance for Women for a discussion of how to formulate a holistic approach to this set of challenges. What does the evidence tell us about the most effective ways to support access to finance, access to skills and networks, and access to markets? And how can interventions best be combined?