Ivanka Trump Initiates Talks on Women Entrepreneurs Fund With The World Bank

Ivanka Trump, the first daughter of the United States, has come up with an idea of creating a fund to finance women entrepreneurs around the world. This will be started by the World Bank, as discussed during the recent G20 summit.

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative is said to provide more than $1 billion to improve asset and capital procurement for women. It is slated to provide assistance and investment options for small and medium-sized businesses in the developing countries.

The aim is to raise $325 million from various governments and the project was initiated by Ivanka Trump, an adviser to the White House, five months back. The US is said to be the biggest financial provider.

The New York Post reported that Donald Trump praised the fund, saying his administration is making a $50 million commitment to the effort, saying, "The group will help eliminate barriers for women to launch businesses and transform millions and millions of lives and empowering women is a core value that binds us together.”

The fund cements the World Bank’s ties to the Trump family at a time when President Donald Trump’s Administration has questioned the wisdom of financing poor countries and emerging markets with US cash. In its budget proposal, the Trump Administration called for cutting funding for the World Bank and other multilateral development lenders by $650 million over three years, commented The Independent.

The President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, said, “Empowering women economically is a moral issue, but it’s also a critical economic issue. No country, organisation, or economy can reach its full potential and meet the challenges of the 21st century without the full and equal participation of women and men,” Bloomberg reported.

The World Bank will be the trustee of the fund and will oversee the allocation and projects started with the money.

The overseeing committee will have members from the countries that have donated the money and will have its first meeting in October. The bank targeted $800 million from financial institutions and commercial contributors apart from the money being donated by various nations.

"The delegations decide who will sit at the table if the president isn’t there, which can happen from time to time. And Ivanka belongs to the US delegation. It’s well known that she works in the White House and is responsible for several initiatives," a Reuters report quoted Angela Merkel.

Pic Credit: The Asian Age

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Jagriti is an intern with SheThePeople.TV