September 14, 2021
The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) launched two initiatives to increase the participation of women in the digital economy, the initiatives were announced by the OAS Executive Secretariat for Integral Development during the Seventh Inter-American Dialogue of High-Level MSME Authorities, held on September 9-10.
The first initiative, “Economically Empowered Women for Equitable and Resilient Societies,” with funding from the U.S. Permanent Mission to the OAS, aims at increasing knowledge and enhancing the capacity of women to effectively function in the economy, build sustainable livelihoods, and increase their participation in policymaking and leadership within their societies.
The project will be implemented in the Northern Triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) and in six countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines).
The second initiative has the OAS and Facebook joining efforts with the “She Means Business Program” to unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs in the region. This platform offers a learning space of growth and encouragement allowing women access to free learning resources, specifically designed for female-led MSMEs. This includes business resiliency and financial management tools, digital skills and WhatsApp Business best practices.
The Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Kim Osborne, stated: “Our task to fortify MSMEs has never been more urgent and we must invest in long-term structural policies, such as digitalization and creative financing, as well as continued training and capacity building and, at the same time, expand the sector by building entrepreneurial skills capacity and other programs that improve their productivity, innovation and internationalization.”
These two new initiatives are part of SEDI’s continued commitment to produce tangible results and positive impacts on the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of our region.