Goldman Sachs and IFC Extend Partnership to Increase Access to Expertise and Capital for Women Entrepreneurs in Francophone Africa

• Goldman Sachs and International Finance Corporation expand partnership.
• First French language offering of highly successful 10,000 Women online curriculum.

Paris, January 25, 2024 - Goldman Sachs and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) today announced the expansion of their partnership to create more opportunity for women entrepreneurs in emerging markets by providing access to business education, resources and financing.

Goldman Sachs announced they are launching a French language version of the 10,000 Women online curriculum. The program will be made available to women entrepreneurs in French-speaking Africa through IFC partner institutions and will be featured through its various capacity-building programs.

This initiative will complement the work of the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF), which was launched in 2014 as the first-of-its-kind global facility dedicated to expanding access to capital for women entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

The women's MSME finance gap in emerging markets is estimated at $1.5 trillion. To date, IFC through WEOF has mobilized $2.96 billion in capital for financial intermediaries to finance women entrepreneurs, exceeding its initial target of $600 million. This funding helped unlock a $4.6 billion increase in the volume of loans on-lent by financial institutions to women entrepreneurs and reached over 164,000 women-owned SMEs in 56 countries.  

Leveraging the resources, reach, and expertise of IFC and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, WEOF was created to expand and deepen financing for women SMEs in developing countries, empower women entrepreneurs through access to capital and expertise, and demonstrate the commercial viability of investing in women by attracting external investors.

Asahi Pompey, global head of Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs, said:

"Goldman Sachs and IFC's decade long partnership is built on a shared commitment to empower women entrepreneurs globally. Our curriculum has a tangible impact on participants and their businesses since 2008 – with 70% of graduates growing their revenue and 60% creating new jobs. We are proud to pursue even greater scale and impact, together with IFC."

Susan Lund, IFC's Vice President for Economics and Private Sector Development, said:

"Online learning can be a powerful tool for entrepreneurs to start and grow their business. In a study by IFC study and Coursera, one-third of the female learners surveyed said they found a new job, set up a business, or improved their job or business performance after taking online courses. Through this expanded education and capital offering, Goldman Sachs and IFC are supporting women entrepreneurs across the globe by removing the barriers to women and encouraging upskilling and access to finance."

About IFC

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

About Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women is an ongoing philanthropic initiative to foster economic growth by providing women entrepreneurs around the world with a business and management education and access to capital. The initiative is funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation and has reached over 200,000 women from over 150 countries. In partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women launched the first-of-its-kind global finance facility in 2014 to enable access to capital to more women entrepreneurs. The 10,000 Women in-person business education program was launched in 2008, reaching over 10,000 women across 15 countries around the world, and in 2018, the 10,000 Women curriculum was made available online through Coursera, further democratizing access to a business education in more corners of the world. For more information on Goldman Sachs' investment in female entrepreneurs, visit: https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/