Today, Goldman Sachs announced one of the largest philanthropic initiatives of any Wall Street firm. The program, called "10,000 Women", aims to raise $100 million for women running small businesses in developing countries. Goldman's money will be used to train these women in areas such as marketing, e-commerce and accounting.
So why such an effort for this specific demographic? Goldman research indicates that closing the gender gap in employment in key emerging markets could lift per capita income 10-14% above baseline forecasts by 2020.
Hopefully you noticed the link to Camfed at the bottom of my blog. Camfed supports the education and development of young women in rural Africa, and Goldman named Camfed one of their key partners for this new initiative. After spending time in rural areas of Kenya, seeing first hand how children cope with poverty and lousy living conditions, I immediately connected with Camfed's cause, and it's great to see such a meaningful commitment from Goldman.
Check out www.camfed.org, you'll find it really interesting. Meanwhile, props to Goldman for putting up a bunch of money for a great cause. However, just to put it in perspective, $100 million represents 0.5% of Goldman's 2007 compensation expense.
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