President Obama is headed to Kenya for the 6th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which takes place from July 24-26 in Nairobi. This is the first time the Summit has taken place in sub-Saharan Africa and was chosen because of the hub it has become for new business opportunities and innovations – especially in Kenya.
Started by President Obama in 2009, the GES is a global platform designed to connect entrepreneurs, innovators and investors from around the world, to encourage collaboration and to foster economic opportunity.
We are so excited to see that this year’s Summit will focus on women and youth and will showcase and support their entrepreneurial endeavors. Both women and youth entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to share their stories and participate in trainings to further their business ventures. They’ll also have the chance to hear from business leaders in a variety of fields, including Akon, chef José Andrés, and UN Youth Envoy Ahmad Alhendawi.
Here at ONE we know that investing in women and girls leads to amazing results. For example:
By providing female farmers with the same access to resources as male farmers, the number of people living in chronic hunger could be reduced by 100-150 million.
If women were employed at the same rate as men, an additional $1.6 trillion in global output could be generated by 2017 (measured in purchasing power parity).
Ensuring that all students in low-income countries, including girls, leave school with basic reading skills could cut extreme poverty around the world by as much as 12%.
But right now, women and girls around the world are getting a raw deal. Poverty is sexist and if we’re going to end it, we need to fight it together.
