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Dar es Salaam, October 2, 2006
— The International Finance Corporation is helping Tanzania’s government assess women’s entrepreneurship in the country. At the government’s request, IFC’s
Gender Entrepreneurship Markets program and its Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa are joining with the World Bank to undertake a diagnostic assessment, the
Gender and Economic Growth Assessment in Tanzania,
and the accompanying
Voices of Women Entrepreneurs
publication
.
The assessments will
suggest solutions to remove legislative, regulatory, and administrative barriers to women's entrepreneurship. They will also identify key challenges and opportunities for business developemnt and growth.
“The government of Tanzania recognizes the importance of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, and it is committed to facilitating the full productive contribution of women as well as men to our economic development,’” said Wilfred Nyachia, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Marketing about commissioning the two new pieces of work on gender.
In addition to undertaking the assessments, the team is addressing to the requests for practical training from women entrepreneurs and ministry officials. More than 50 participants from government, civil society, and the private sector are expected to attend a Media and Advocacy Workshop on October 2 and 3, sponsored by IFC’s GEM program. “The
Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Marketing
has been a leader in providing opportunities for women in business to develop technical skills and expand. The World Bank and IFC GEM are delighted to join the ministry in facilitating this practical support,” said World Bank Country Director, Judy O’Connor.
The two-day training session on media and advocacy aims to equip the participants with key skills to move forward the reforms that the assessments identify.
Marjorie Margolies, a former member of the United States Congress and an award-winning journalist, and Darrell Browning, a leading crisis specialist from Wharton Business School in the United States
, are leading the workshop. “IFC GEM is pleased to extend this support to women entrepreneurs, key government counterparts, and civil society organizations,” said Amanda Ellis, head of the program.
The
Gender and Economic Growth Assessment
focuses on addressing legislative and cultural issues and draws on international best practice.
Voices of Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania
is a complementary tool for advocacy and is based on a series of interviews with women business owners. The two reports involve extensive consultations with both public and private sector stakeholders.
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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