Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis

About 10,000 women in developing countries including Tanzania will benefit from basic business skills in order to control small business, thanks to the Danish government for the initiatives.

A statement from the Danish embassy issued recently said already the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) has partnered with US Department of State and Goldman Sachs aimed to promote growth in Tanzania by giving women entrepreneurs access to education and loans.

According to the statement, in Tanzania, more than 100 women will graduate from a programme implemented by the University of Dar es Salaam Business School.

After graduation Danida, through CRDB Bank in Tanzania facilitates access to finance for the women, who have sustainable business ideas, the statement said.

The statement said Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis Back said Denmark wants “women to be in a position, where they can exercise their rights and utilise their true economic potential”.

Last month the Minister signed a partnership with the State Department and the investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The partnership goes hand in hand with the Goldman Sachs programme “10,000 women” that aims to educate 10,000 women entrepreneurs from developing countries in basic business skills in order to control a small business.

Studies show that eighteen months after graduation, nearly 80 per cent of surveyed scholars have increased revenues and more than 60 per cent have added new employees.

The announcement of the partnership was made at the World Bank headquarters in Washington.

Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group praised the initiative: "Gender equality is smart economics, the evidence is indisputable: women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses make significant contributions to a country's economic development and overcoming poverty”.

Zoellick said initiatives such as that new public-private partnership help unleash the potential of women entrepreneurs and will make a real difference in the lives of women and their families in developing countries."

The project is aiming for women in development countries in general but starts off with a pilot-phase in Tanzania. If the project proves successful, it will be enlarged to include more countries.