BY VICTOR BAATWENG
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS ÔÇô Ivanka Trump, daughter and advisor to the US President ÔÇô Donald Trump did not only shine with her long sleeve white floral dress that matched the belt and royal blue high heels but her speech at the just ended Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) seems to have left an impression on the over 2000 attendees.
Ms Trump appeared on stage during the last day of the two days summit held under the theme ÔÇô “The Future Now” co-hosted by the Kingdom of Netherlands and United States of America. The theme stressed how innovative entrepreneurs can deliver solutions today to the world’s challenges while creating road maps for future economic prosperity.
Speaking during the closing plenary session, Ms Trump described women entrepreneurs as an enormous untapped resource, critical to the growth of all countries. Ms Trump said if women are empowered in an environment that is not enabling, the empowerment will not last.
“It’s unsustainable, she said.
She pointed to mobile trade as part of solution for the troubles that women are facing when trying to compete in the economy. Mobile trade, Ms Trump said, will save them time of having to go to the market physically or eliminating the physical risk usually face.
In 2018 Ms Trump launched the WomenConnect challenge – a global call for solutions to improve women’s participation in everyday life by meaningfully changing the ways women and girls access and use technology.
Women visibly made up over half of the 2000 attendees at the GES 2019 ÔÇô a gathering attended by corporate and other business leaders, investors, academics and political leaders.
Fast forward to 2019, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Glick announced $1.5 million in new grant funding for the WomenConnect Challenge under the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative at the just ended summit.
Led by USAID, the Challenge seeks to bridge the gender digital divide so women can participate fully in the global economy.
