U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched several new initiatives to support the advancement of entrepreneurship opportunities for women in the developing world, especially in Muslim-populated countries.
These initiatives, which where launched at the sidelines of U.S. President Barack Obama’s entrepreneurial summit in Washington, include the following:
- Tech Women, a program to improve the technological capacity of women living in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the West Bank and Gaza. The program will bring these women to U.S. technology centers such as the Silicon Valley for professional peer mentorships.
- APEC Women Entrepreneurship Summit, a summit focusing on human resources, financing and policy issues. The event is in partnership with Japan, which chairs the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2010.
- The Secretary’s International Fund for Women and Girls, a public-private partnership that will provide grants to non-governmental organizations working for the economic, social and political advancement of women worldwide.
- The Secretary’s Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, an award funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. The two-round selection process includes submission of an initial concept paper by June 1, 2010 and a full proposal from those selected from the initial pool of contributors. Winners will be named at the end of 2010.
