International
A recent
release from the GMAT people showed two interesting trends for Chinese
women – first, they are going to grad schools at a far higher percentage than women
in other countries and at a much younger age, 25; and second that most are
heading to Western universities. For most of the women quoted, they see foreign
universities offering better educational experiences, especially for those
wanting to work in foreign countries. India, Canada, the UK and Singapore are
the top b-school destinations, according to GMAC.
Just like the ever popular Pitch Events of The Next Women, in last month's ArabNet conference, held in the Lebanese capital, also a Pitch contest was done. And 40% of the pitches were from female entrepreneurs.
For the recent
International Women’s Day, the UN focused on the theme ‘Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and
Poverty'.
On a day when many of us are suffering from chocolate over-indulgence, we wanted to share with you the impact that the UN's work is having on some of the poorest women in Bangladesh, creating female agricultural entrepreneurs and enabling women to adequately provide for their families, rather than living hand-to-mouth.
Julekha Begum has become something of a celebrity in her area of Bangladesh. As a respected and successful woman farmer she has visits from women from all over Bangladesh, seeking help and advice on how they can follow in her footsteps.
The February 2012 edition of Forbes Africa contains their list of Top 20 Start-ups in Africa. Check out the list below; do you agree with the listed companies; do you think some were missed out? Let us know in the Comments!
1. MXit.
Whilst I love to read
interviews with some of the world's leading female entrepreneurs right here on The
NextWomen, it is equally inspiring and heart-warming to hear stories of women
running much smaller enterprises in developing countries.
It makes me immensely proud to be a woman when I hear how some women are changing their lives and the lives of their families for the better running small scale businesses.
Today I wanted to share with you four success stories of female entrepreneurs who have managed to get their businesses off the ground with the help of Kiva.
Kiva is one of the most worthwhile causes on the planet right now. It is a non-profit organization that uses microfinancing, whereby lenders make small loans to support borrowers in need. Kiva connects these borrowers and lenders as a way to directly and continually fight global poverty.
The BOLT Women Small Business Owners - America's New Job Creators Infographic visually explains how female business owners have positively impacted job creation in the U.S.. More and more American women are taking their careers into their own hands and opening small businesses. Small businesses account for more than 99 percent of employers in the U.S.,and female ownership in small business increased more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2007.
She Takes on the World Founder Natalie MacNeil’s TEDx Talk about women as the largest block of untapped catalysts for tomorrow and how we can empower women to change the world.
Rising above
cultural stigma, increasingly women in Bangladesh are becoming
entrepreneurs, bucking the trend of consumer led small scale rural
business, increasingly running developmental businesses requiring professional
skills such marketing, sales and product development.
This would have been impossible if not for the massive success of microfinance.
When Monif Clarke initially launched her plus size clothing range in
2006, she would pitch her design ideas to the major retailers, only to be told
again and again that no-one would purchase her clothing: it was too trendy, too
colorful, too sexy and their plus sized customers weren’t that fashion conscious.
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