On International Women’s Day, like every day, we showed how our work empowers female entrepreneurs

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day was #EachforEqual, highlighting the collective impact of individual actions for creating a gender equal world.

How did YBI commemorate International Women’s Day?

We ran a weeklong campaign, showing how our network – members, partners and young entrepreneurs – comes together to create equal opportunities in the entrepreneurship space for women entrepreneurs. We shared the stories of six inspiring young female entrepreneurs from around the world, Ayzada, Akhti, Anna, Judith, Kaniz and Jenifer, and shared how they’re challenging stereotypes, breaking down barriers and providing opportunities for others.

We are proud to support many young female entrepreneurs like them!

In 2019, more than 40,000 young women received entrepreneurship training from YBI members! We strive to grow this number even more in 2020.

Two very special moments of our International Women’s Day campaign

One of the highlights of our campaign was the story of Jolanda van der Steen, an experienced entrepreneurship mentor. Jolanda shared her passion for mentoring and why she thinks now is a crucial time for more women to get involved:

“I think at this point in time we are in a transition and need more female mentors. You can tell that values are changing. For entrepreneurs and employees, it is no longer just about making money, but rather about having more of an impact, inside and outside of your organisation.”

Read how Jolanda is changing lives through mentoring.

Lastly, we are very proud to say that our CEO, Anita Tiessen, is featured on the official International Women’s Day website as an “Each for Equal” influencer. In Anita’s words:

“Women’s economic empowerment, including access to decent work, is essential to achieving inclusive and sustainable development around the world. A country which is more equal has better education and health outcomes, more school leavers, lower mortality rates and a higher per capita income. These are the essential foundations for a healthy economy. In short, women’s economic equality is good for business.”

Read more about Anita’s views on women’s economic empowerment.

We continue to work with our partners and members around the world to make our support programmes for young entrepreneurs inclusive and remove the barriers that young women face when starting a business.

Find out more about our work and how we contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.