On the occasion of the 3rd CEO Summit of the Americas, Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and senior executives from Google, IBM, Microsoft, Facebook, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, MasterCard and Danper have announced their c ommitment to the IDB’s #100kChallenge initiative, seeking to coach, connect and certify more than 100,000 women entrepreneurs in the Americas by 2021.

Through the ConnectAmericas for Women platform, the IDB and partner companies will help strengthen the digital and business skills of women entrepreneurs using innovative training tools.

They will also promote the participation of women-led businesses in regional and global value chains, facilitate procurement opportunities, increase their participation in business forums, and promote training programs for certification of their products, services or processes.

“Women entrepreneurs have great potential to contribute to the dynamism of our economies, employment creation, and the prosperity of our region.

What we are looking for with this campaign is to work hand in hand with the business community to multiply the impact of our initiatives and achieve this ambitious goal," said Moreno.

The private sector has a critical role to play in advancing women’s empowerment in the workplace, in the community, and through their procurement policies and practices, in order to create greater opportunities for half of the population, who in turn play a fundamental role in the economic development of the countries of our hemisphere.

The IDB is strongly committed to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the hemisphere.

In May 2016, the IDB launched the online business platform ConnectAmericas for Women to connect women entrepreneurs with real business opportunities and offer them innovative tools to strengthen their management skills.

To date, 59,000 women entrepreneurs have signed up, and more than 22,000 have received training and participated in business forums.

Women entrepreneurs interested in learning more about the #100kChallenge and participating in trainings and other initiatives should join ConnectAmericas for Women at no cost at this link: connectamericas.com/women

About the IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean.