Female Entrepreneurship: What do we know? How to operationalize it?

April 6th, 2011 Wednesday

World Bank “J” building, room JB1-080

701 18th St. NW, Washington DC

8:30-9.00 am / Registration and breakfast
9:00-9:10 am / Opening Remarks, JanamitraDevan, Vice President and Head of Network, Financial and Private Sector Development
9:10- 10:00 am / Opening Session –Women’s businesses: obstacles and catalysis to growth, policy, research and industry perspective.
Do women's owned small and medium enterprises disproportionately struggle to grow, which ones do succeed, which ones don't? Why is it the case and which interventions would help remove gender-specific obstacles? This opening session will be Davos / talk show style discussion on the role of women as entrepreneurs as engine for growth globally, what we know so far on the issue, why policy makers and private sector actors should pay attention to women entrepreneurs and where the knowledge gaps are.
Moderator:
  • Ana Revenga, Co-DirectorWorld Development Report 2012 Gender Equality and Development
Panelists:
  • Nancy Lee, Deputy Assistant Secretary Western Hemisphere, Department of US Treasury
  • Noa Meyer, Global Program Director for 10,000 Women, Goldman, Sachs & Co
  • Deborah Holmes, Global Director, Corporate Responsibility, Ernst & Young
  • PiyushTantia, Research Director - Financial Design, ideas42, IQSS, Harvard University

10:00 - 11:00am / Session 1 - Enabling Environment and Policy Reforms to Support Female Entrepreneurship
This session will discuss the latest work of WBG to support an enabling environment and policy reforms needed to support female entrepreneurship.
Moderator:
  • Pierre Guislian, Director, Investment Climate Department
Panelists:
  • Mary Hallward-Driemeier “Expanding Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa”
  • Sarah Iqbal, “Women, Business and the Law”
  • SeviSimavi, “Gender Dimensions of Investment Climate Reform”

11.00 – 11.15am / Coffee break
11:15 – 12:30pm / Session 2 - Training, skill upgrading, and support to micro-small entrepreneurs
This session will discuss the role of training and business development services to support female entrepreneurs, new research in this area and emerging findings from the operational work.
Moderator: PierellaPaci, Sector Manager, Gender and Development Unit, World Bank
Presenters:
  • Louise Fox (Lead Economist, Sub-Saharan Africa region, PREM, World Bank) “Training, skill upgrading, and support to micro-small entrepreneurs”
  • Michel M. Botzung, (Senior Operations Officer, Sustainable Business Advisory) "How to unlock another emerging market - Women Entrepreneurs / The experience of IFC'sSME Solutions"
  • Martin Valdivia (Senior Researcher, Grupo de Análisispara el Desarrollo) “Business Training for Female Entrepreneurs in Peru: an Impact Evaluation”
  • Claudia Piras (Lead Social Development Economist, Inter-American Development Bank – IDB) “Chile Emprendedoras: Promoting Women in Dynamic Business”

12:30 – 2:00 pm / Networking Lunch feature WBG tools, products and projects on female entrepreneurship
2:00 – 3:00 pm / Session 3 - Women in Trade and Supply Chains
This session will discuss the role of women in trade and global supply chains; what is the role of governments and private sector to support women entrepreneurs so they have access to increased opportunities and resources.
Moderator:
  • Monika Weber-Fahr, Senior Manager, Sustainable Business Advisory Department, IFC Advisory Services
Presenters:
  • Sarah Thorn, Senior Director, Federal Government Relations, Walmart“Global Corporate initiative to support female entrepreneurship”
  • RadhaMuthiah, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, CARE"Partnerships to Empower Women in the Agribusiness Value Chain"
  • Alejandra EguiluzZamora, Integration and Trade specialist, IADB¨ First approach to gender mainstreaming. The Handicraft Exports Program in Cusco, Perú¨

3:00 - 4:00pm / Session 4 - Access to Finance and New Technologies
This session will discuss opportunities and challenges for women’s access to finance.
Moderator: MarilouUy, Director, Financial and Private Sector Development, Sub-Saharan Africa, World Bank
Presenters:
  • ZoueraYoussoufou (Head, Women in Business, IFC) “Gender, finance, and banking”
  • PiyushTantia (Research Director, ideas42) “Keeping it simple: The results of rule of thumb based financial literacy training on business outcomes and savings”
  • Leonardo Iacovone (Economist, Finance and Private Sector Development, Central and West Africa, World Bank) “Gender and Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Are Women Disadvantaged?”

4:00-5:30 / Reception

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