US to invest $100mln to empower women around the world

The United States (US) government will spend $100 million on helping empower women economically around the world in 2020 – many of them in Africa.

Congress has approved new funding for the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (WGDP) a program led by President Trump’s daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump.

From meeting a coffee entrepreneur in Ethiopia to dancing in Cote d’Ivoire, the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, has made championing women a signature policy.

“It’s exciting to be able to come here to Africa to talk about the unique challenges and opportunities that face female entrepreneurs in this country and on this continent. Because when Africa’s empowered we all rise together,” says Trump.

Kenyan Ciiru Waweru Waithaka was one such woman. She built up her children’s furniture brand from scratch.

“Five years into the business we went asking for money. Banks wouldn’t give us money. Not because our business wasn’t viable, we’re the fastest-growing continent, the largest number of children and youth, almost a no-brainer business. But because as a woman they did not believe I could manufacture. Or even understand machines that I had a dream and a vision to be one of the largest children’s brands in the world,” says Waithaka, CEO & co-founder FunKidz.

However, Ivanka Trump’s brainchild, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WiFi) stepped in and the capital was secured.

“We know that access to capital is far harder for women than men. In 70% of the dev world, women face inadequate access to capital and really inability to access institutions altogether.”

Ms Trump and her father launched the women’s global development and prosperity initiative in February.

“Today at the white house we’re launching WGDP. We believe that unleashing the potential of women will create tremendous opportunity, peace, and stability around the globe,” says Trump.

“This is an important initiative but on its own, it’s not enough and if it operates in a vacuum it’s not enough and so if we don’t have robust diplomacy if we don’t have a strategy for Africa.  We need to change the mindset in Washington not to see Africa as a charity case but to see Africa as an opportunity. I think the WGDP also contributes to that by saying there’s an opportunity here look at all these women business leaders,” says Daniel Runde, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Ivanka Trump’s aim is for that opportunity to benefit 50 million women in developing countries by 2025.

She says she’s on track for that goal. She’s maintained her father’s notoriously mercurial support – and now she has bipartisan support – with Congressional approval for 100 million dollars of new funding for 2020.