Please join the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center on Thursday, May 16, for a conversation on women’s entrepreneurship and gendered barriers to raising capital in African markets. Panelists will discuss how to build on OPIC’s new 2X Women’s Initiative and improve access to capital for women entrepreneurs in Africa and beyond.
A conversation with:
Mr. Jake Cusack
Managing Partner
CrossBoundary
Ms. Berhane Demissie
Managing Partner
Cepheus Growth Capital
Ms. Kathryn C. Kaufman
Managing Director for Global Women’s Issues
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Moderated by:
Ms. Aubrey Hruby
Senior Fellow, Africa Center
Atlantic Council
Welcome and Introduction by:
Ms. Bronwyn Bruton
Director of Programs and Studies and Deputy Director, Africa Center
Atlantic Council
While Africa has some of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship in the world, there is a dearth of female leadership atop private equity and venture capital firms with funds on the continent, and women disproportionately face barriers to credit and capital that hinder the growth and survival of their businesses. To help address this disconnect, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) launched its global 2X Women’s Initiative in 2018 to mobilize over $1 billion for businesses and funds owned by women, managed by women, or providing a product or service that intentionally empowers women. In tandem with other G7 development finance institutions (DFIs), OPIC has also accepted the “2X Challenge,” which calls on these DFIs to collectively catalyze $3 billion by 2020 to economically empower women across the developing world.
VISITING THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL
Atlantic Council
1030 15th Street, NW, 12th Floor (West Tower Elevators)
Washington, DC 20005
This event is on-the-record and open to press.