Articles

Unlocking women’s economic potential (en)

20 décembre 2016
ITC Nouvelles
With the SheTrades initiative, ITC is connecting women entrepreneurs
to markets.

The economic empowerment of women is a matter for all. Inclusiveness does not only ensure a fairer world for both men and women, it also leads to faster and more sustainable economic growth.

Empowering women to become economic actors of change is at the heart of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) work. Last year, ITC launched the SheTrades initiative to connect one million women to global market by 2020. The initiative provides a compass for governments, private sector and international organisations to achieve greater gender inclusivity in trade, while enabling women entrepreneur across the world to find new business and partnership opportunities online.

So far, the SheTrades initiative has received commitments from governments, enterprises and organizations to connect 600,000 women to markets. Moreover, the SheTrades app has become an instant hit among women entrepreneurs and businesses with thousands having signed up to do find and do business.

The people featured on these pages are some of those that have stood up for SheTrades in 2016, and include United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi and WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. In 2017 we hope you, too, will stand up for SheTrades.