(New York) – Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, has hosted a Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, We-Fi, event on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA 73, in New York.
We-Fi is a collaborative partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks, and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group. It seeks to address financial and non-financial constraints faced by women-owned/led small and medium enterprises in developing countries.
The UAE Minister welcomed the attendees of the event, entitled, ‘Building a Better World for Female Entrepreneurs’, which saw the participation of Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, and Ivanka Trump, Assistant to the US President.
Other high-profile government representatives participating in the event also included Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ulla Torneos, Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark, and Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia.
By organising this event, the UAE aims to promote awareness about We-Fi and its objective to empower female entrepreneurship, provide leadership champions with opportunities to deliver key messages and insights promoting women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, and facilitate interaction and knowledge exchange between We-Fi partners and stakeholders.
The founding financial contributors are Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. These 14 governments have committed over US$340 million to launch the facility’s activities.
