IE Business School has signed a collaboration agreement with Goldman Sachs to act as academic partner in the â??10,000 Womenâ?? project, an initiative whereby universities and business schools from around the world will provide management education programs for 10,000 women in developing countries. IE Business School will be running a program for women entrepreneurs in Brazil, with the collaboration of professors from Fundaçao Getúlio Vargas de Sao Paulo, a partner school of the Sumaq Alliance.
The business schools that participate in this project will design and implement business management programs that run for between 5 weeks and 6 months, covering areas that include how to prepare a business plan, strategic planning, financial planning and marketing, all aimed at consolidating participantsâ?? business projects. The schools will also be preparing practical case studies of successful local businesses as well as launching programs for trainers, designed to improve the quality of business education in participating countries.
In addition to IE and FGV, other academic partners in the project include Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Columbia Business School, Thunderbird School and Wharton School in the US; London Business School, INSEAD, HEC Paris and Judge Business School in Europe; Zhejiang University, Tsinghua SEM and National Entrepreneurship Network in Asia; Fundação Dom Cabral in Latin America; and Camfed International Zambia, in Africa.
â??This project is aimed at advancing management education for women in developing countries and at helping to close the gender gap in business managementâ?, says Santiago Ãñiguez de Onzoño, Dean of IE Business School. Lloyd C. Blankfein, President and CEO of Goldman Sachs feels that â??One of the powerful ideas behind 10,000 Women is educational institutions, development organizations and the private sector coming together to help address a profound challenge â?? driving and sharing economic growthâ?. Blankfein sees the initiative as a way to help 10,000 women â??realize their dreamsâ? and to bring business education to future generations of women directors and entrepreneurs in developing countries.
For more information on the 10,000 Women Project go to www.10000women.org.
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