Obama pledges support and money to women/youth to trade

The United States government has opened two women entrepreneurship centres in Kenya and Zambia, with a third one to be opened in Mali later this year, to help step up support for women entrepreneurs.

This according to US president Barack Obama who also pledged US$1 billion to support entrepreneurship projects worldwide – noting that a large share of the money would go towards the empowerment of women and youth in order to level the playing ground for all.

He was speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Nairobi on Saturday, hailing Africa's “enormous potential” and revealing that his government, along with leading US corporations, would finance the establishment of new training and mentorship centres for African women entrepreneurs. He said there were 1 600 women entrepreneurs in Africa and that the US government was keen on helping increase this number.

He challenged governments to eliminate regulatory barriers that undermined growth of local enterprises. "Governments are obliged to facilitate growth of businesses. They should reform the policy and regulatory environment to enhance competitiveness," said Obama.
– SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua