Why 10,000 Women?

A critical – yet often overlooked – condition for reducing inequality and ensuring that the benefits of globalization are more widely spread is a robust and growing class of entrepreneurs, managers and financial leaders in developing countries – especially one that promotes opportunities for women.

Quality business and entrepreneurial education, and, therefore, the number of entrepreneurs and managers, are in short supply in the developing world. Among the 50 major business schools in Africa, only 2,600 women are currently enrolled in local MBA programs – a continent of 900 million people. Women account for half of the world's population and half of its talent. The costs of not developing and using this talent are enormous. The breadth of an emerging economy's entrepreneurial class, as well as its inclusion of women in the economy, is essential for nations to embrace the global economy while achieving shared growth at home.

As new Goldman Sachs research recently released confirms, investing in education for women may have the highest social return of any investment, when one considers the range of income and health outcomes for such women and their families. Investing in girls' education leads to increased wages for individuals as well as faster economic growth for a country.