Recognizing that aspiring businesswomen are often prevented from realizing their economic potential, the IFC is committed to creating opportunities for women in business. The gender program aims to mainstream gender issues into IFC's work, while helping to better leverage the untapped potential of women as well as men in emerging markets.

IFC provides financial products and advisory services to:

• increase access to finance for women entrepreneurs
• reduce gender-based barriers in the business environment
• improve the sustainability of IFC investment projects.

Recent Highlights

IFC Promotes Research on Women's Entrepreneurship in Tunisia
The Tunisian Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs (Chambre Nationale Des Femmes Chefs D'Entreprises, CNFCE), and the Higher Institute of Management (Institut Supérieur de Gestion, ISG) on June 4, 2008, launched a report on "Women Business Owners in Tunisia" under the patronage of Mrs. Sarah Kanoun Jarraya, Tunisian Minister of Women Affairs, Family and Children and the Elderly. The report identifies access to international trade, utilization of information communication technology, and access to finance among the challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Tunisia. It is a result of a regional project in which IFC together with the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR) teamed-up businesswomen associations and research centers to better understand the needs of women entrepreneurs. Download the report... (French only) (PDF, 381kb)