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March 8th is International Women's Day, so test your knowledge about gender and development, and learn about some of the women working to lift their communities out of poverty.

#SheFightsPoverty: What Do You Know About Women Entrepreneurs?

In Mozambique, women entrepreneurs are operating a series of new community maize mills that will increase the supply of food in their villages and provide a steady source of income.

What percentage of the world’s chronically hungry are women and girls?

Franceska Opoku is a Ghanaian entrepreneur who started a natural beauty company. She said, “No matter how difficult or bleak things may look, [you] just have to keep going and take every opportunity that comes … to achieve [your] goals."

According to estimates from the International Labor Organization, how many women in developing countries are not prepared or not enabled to fully participate in the world economy?

Gloriose Uwazeyu finished high school, but she did not find employment, and was living at home with her parents. However, with support and training from the STRYDE Program, the young Rwandan started a brickmaking 
business. Now, it is generating more than $2,000 per month in sales, and she is saving money to attend college.

Roughly what percentage of the young people in developing countries who are neither working nor studying are women?

“What everyone needs is an opportunity to do what we are capable of doing,” says Mala Giridhar, owner of an Indian craft business that employs workers with mental disabilities.

Roughly what percentage of small- and medium-sized businesses in South Asia are owned by women?

Ann Kalekye is a young entrepreneur in Nairobi, Kenya. She uses the income from her small used-clothes and sanitation businesses to pay for her younger siblings’ school fees.

On average, what percentage of their income do women reinvest in their families?

Nicaraguan entrepreneur Carolina Ramirez started her smoothie shop to provide a healthy alternative for local consumers. After a business-plan competition, she received a $10,000 loan to expand her business.

What is the most common source of start-up funding for women entrepreneurs in developing countries?

Thanks to a mobile savings account, Martha Akim, a 25-year-old Tanzanian, was able to save $67--equivalent to a month’s income--earn interest, and access loans for the first time in her life.

What percentage of women in Sub-Saharan Africa use their mobile phones to transfer or save money?

Emily Ahebwa is a 20-year-old woman from Kampala, Uganda. Working with a mentor through the Girls Apprenticeship Program, she was able to realize her dream of opening a bakery that helps to support her son and her parents.

Women in which region were mostly likely to say that they plan to start a business in the next three years?

For the 12 women who own Mishky Cacao in Chazuta, Peru, their business does not just represent a source of income. It has empowered them to have a greater say in their families and their community, and it has helped bring peace and stability to a town that was once paralyzed by the violence of the drug trade.

Roughly how many formal, women-owned small- and medium-sized businesses are there in Latin America?

When she was a girl, Amony Irene was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army. When she returned to her home in northern Uganda, she enrolled in vocational training to learn the welding trade, but faced discrimination in the male-dominated industry. Later, after receiving business training, she started her own welding company. “My business has restored my hope and joy,” she said.

What percentage of young women in Sub-Saharan Africa have received vocational training?

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#SheFightsPoverty: What Do You Know About Women Entrepreneurs?

Join the conversation on social media by using #SheFightsPoverty

#SheFightsPoverty: What Do You Know About Women Entrepreneurs?

Join the conversation on social media by using #SheFightsPoverty

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