Dear GBA Members,
Greetings from Washington,
I trust all of you are well and enjoying your summer!
Thank you very much to Bank of Scotland Corporate for its contribution to this month GBA update. We hope that members continue to share interesting links, news, market trends, and activities. This is what we’ll keep these updates interesting and beneficial to our membership. Feel free to contact Esther at mdassanou@ ifc.org with any information or news articles you would like us to circulate to our membership through these updates.
GBA HAPPENINGS
Welcome to New GBA Member UPS Capital
UPS Capital addresses the financial needs of the supply chain. Its services combined with the broad capabilities of UPS help enhance operations as well as improve bottom-line results.
From protecting companies against the various risks associated with trade to assisting businesses with expansion into new markets, UPS Capital has a wide variety of financial solutions available for today’s growing enterprise.
For more information, please visit:
http://capital.ups.com/index.html
Congratulations to GBA Member CIB on being profiled in the Financial Times. To read all about it, visit http://media.ft.com/cms/b81caae4-4108-11dd-9661-0000779fd2ac.pdf
8th GBA Summit , London UK – October 18-22, 2008
As you know, this year’s summit has been moved to London where we have the opportunity to benefit from significant women’s market synergies that can be leveraged by the organization. These include the FTSE 100 and its gender component, Opportunity International’s work on gender, and the group of UK Banks exploring the women’s market, all of which will provide us with the opportunity to gain broader visibility in the women’s market, and showcase the GBA.
All of you should have received the partipants form sent on July 31st via email. Please fill it out as soon possible, and email it back to the Secretariat. This will help us in booking your rooms early, and making proper transportation arrangements.
You should also have received the draft agenda for the closed and open sessions. We look forward to receiving your comments and inputs.
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!
The GBA Governing Board and Secretariat are pleased to announce the “Most Innovative Bank Award Competition”. We invite all GBA members to submit a brief one pager on the most innovative activity undertaken by your financial institution this year to enhance your services to women entrepreneurs. The one pagers which will be compiled and included in the program booklet, should be sent to the Secretariat no later than October 3rd, 2008. Two member finalists will be announced to present during the closed sessions. Following their presentations, members will vote on the winner who will be announced and recognized during the Gala dinner.
You may contact the Secretariat with any questions or needed clarifications.
IN THE NEWS
Leading Businesswomen in the Arab World:
Niche market has hidden potential
By Roula Khalaf
Financial Times, Monday June 23, 2008
Bankers and investment managers have been flocking to the oil-rich Gulf in recent years, chasing the growing pool of wealth. As they get to know the region better, they are finding that one of the most potentially lucrative – and least developed – class of investors is the women – that vast section of the population Arab culture has traditionally hidden behind a veil. (…)
For more, please visit:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8fbd50e-3e5a-11dd-b16d-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=aa37f51a-3c11-11dd-9cb2-0000779fd2ac.html
A Million Women Making $1 Million
By Maria Bartiromo,
The Wall Street Journal Report and CNBC’s Closing Bell, March 2008
(…) Why $1 million? “It’s a turning point in a business,” says Merlino, 54, cofounder and president of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, the leading national nonprofit provider of online micro loans for women entrepreneurs. “It says that you are serious, that you can hire the people you need and access financing in a way you couldn’t before.” (…)
For more, please visit:
http://www.rd.com/the-visionary-dreamers-march-08/article53059.html
Building A Legacy
By Monica Smiley,
Enterprising Women, Volume. 9, No. 1, 2008
Women business owners are in business to make more than a profit — they want to make a difference. (…) Whatever their reaon for originally starting the business, thousands of women entrepreneurs have grown businesses over the past two decades or more and are now ready to move on to their next big venture.(…)
For more, please visit your members only page at http://www.gbaforwomen.org
Research ReportFostering Gender Equality: Meeting the Entrepreneurship & Microfinance Challenge
http://www.prowess.org.uk/admin/library_new/541/ONSITE%20Meeting%20the%20entrepreneurship%20and%20microfinance%20challenge.pdf
