Inclusive Capital: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs on a Global Scale
*** Sales end 18 September 2023 3PM due to requirement for request of temporary passes to access UN HQ Conference Room 2 ***
Join us at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC for an inspiring high-level event , organised in conjunction with the upcoming 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) to bring together leaders from the private sector and UN agencies to spotlight the critical gap in financing for women businesses, in collaboration with WEA-participating UN agencies, Yildiz Holding, Mary Kay Global and Women Entrepreneurs Act initiative (WE Act) of the Women20 (W20) countries. The “ Inclusive Capital: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs on a Global Scale” event will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders within the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem to discuss the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs to access finance, emphasize the critical importance of inclusive investing, and generate institutional and corporate commitments to better serve women businesses through applying a gender-inclusive lens to their decision-making.
BACKGROUND
Women entrepreneurs have a crucial role in economic development through employment generation and boosting innovation and growth: they provide income for their families, employment for their communities, and create new value for products and services. Women have been a fast-growing segment of small business owners for several decades. The evidence shows that lending to women-owned businesses (WOBs) is both profitable and impactful and women’s entrepreneurship can be a powerful force in addressing societal challenges and accelerating progress on the SDGs.
While the number of WOBs is increasing globally, women entrepreneurs continue to face considerable obstacles that stunt the growth of their businesses, with access to capital as the most-cited challenge. On one hand, certain studies show that women run smaller businesses and are less likely to rely on venture capital. On the other hand, there is also substantial evidence that banks and investors continue to discriminate against women entrepreneurs, due to conscious or unconscious bias that affect bankers’ decisions about loan applications and interest rates. Such discrimination also worsens as the level of financial development of countries decreases .
A critical gap in financing for women-owned and women-led businesses remains, despite demonstrated growth in other areas of investment. While venture capital (VC) funding rose in recent years, the numbers haven’t leapt for women founders at the same pace. In 2022, companies founded solely by women garnered just 2.1% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US. Globally, women entrepreneurs face a US $1.7 trillion finance gap limiting their potential to add an estimated US $5-6 trillion in economic value to the economy. To bridge this funding gap, increased engagement from investors is crucial.
FORMAT
The hybrid session will welcome approximately 500 on-site attendees and remote participants, initiated by welcoming remarks from UN Women’s Executive Director. This will be followed by a panel discussion between the WEA partner agencies on the “trillion-dollar opportunity in supporting women entrepreneurs” for national and global economies, if women-owned and women-led businesses could overcome the access to finance challenges. The invitation-only dinner following the event will provide an opportunity to participating investors to make institutional commitment to better serve women’s businesses.
The WEA event will be followed by an invitation-only dinner to be held in the Delegates Dining Room supported by 1919 Investment Counsel for approximately 50 guests including investors and high-net worth individuals who have expressed an interest in impact-driven philanthropy with a focus on women’s entrepreneurship. Prior to the dinner, 1919 will reach out to the proposed invitees to introduce them to WEA’s work, 1919 collaboration with WEA to date and how partnering with WEA can have a meaningful impact for women entrepreneurs.
MAIN ORGANIZERS
UN Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator initiative, a multi-partnership global initiative of ILO, ITC, ITU, UNDP, UN Women, UNGC and Mary Kay Global, in collaboration with 1919 Investment Counsel, Yildiz Holding, and the Women Entrepreneurs Act initiative (WE Act) of the Women20 (W20) of the G20 countries.
COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The event will be featured live on social media and United Nations Web TV website.
Follow us: • Twitter (We_Accelerator)
• Facebook (@womensentrepreneurshipaccelerator)
Learn more: https://www.we-accelerate.com/
Important:
No food & beverages are permitted inside the conference room.