Reuters

ENVIRONMENT | Sat Jul 8, 2017 | 11:47am EDT

World Bank Launches Loan Program for Women Entrepreneurs

Photo:  Participants of the ”Launch Event Women’s Entrepreneur Finance Initiative’, among them the daughter of the US President Ivanka Trump (front) and (second row L-R) World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim (Front L), Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde and Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland attend the ‘Women’s Entrepreneurship Finance Event’ at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Patrik STOLLARZ, Pool

The World Bank on Saturday launched a public-private loan program to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries, an initiative championed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.

Initial funding of $325 million for the project includes large donations from Germany, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the bank said.

“This is going to be what we hope will be a multibillion dollar fund to support women entrepreneurs,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.

The program will work with governments “to improve laws and regulations that are stifling women entrepreneurs,” pushing financial institutions to provide equity to the companies they create, the bank said.