FIVE-YEAR CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE COMMITMENT DELIVERS IN FIRST TWO YEARS

PARTNERS EXCEED GOAL TO TRACK SPEND WITH WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES BY US$1.5 BILLION

July 16, 2015 – New York City

Just two years after launching the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitment to advancing women-owned businesses in new markets, WEConnect International and Vital Voices have helped to facilitate and track more than US$3 Billion in new spend with women-owned businesses and the training of more than 40,000 women business owners based outside the U.S.

WEConnect International and Vital Voices are proud to announce these impressive early results made possible by commitment partners: Accenture, ASU Thunderbird, The Boeing Company, Cherie Blair Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, DLA Piper, EY, ExxonMobil, Freeport, Goldman Sachs, IBM, ICRW, IDB, Intel, Johnson Controls, Marriott International, McLarty Global Fellows, Pfizer Inc., RBS, Rockefeller Foundation, TechnoServe, U.S. Department of State, and Walmart.

“We are all proud of our collective accomplishments, but we are keenly aware that this is just the beginning,” said Elizabeth A. Vazquez, CEO and Co-Founder of WEConnect International. “The success of this CGI commitment hinged on the collaborative spirit in which the partners worked together across the globe.”

According to Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, “Advancing women’s economic empowerment and leadership fosters stronger economies and more secure communities around the world. The success of this commitment is a testament to what can be achieved through collaboration and partnership.”

WEConnect International helps women-owned businesses succeed in global value chains. It identifies, educates, registers, and certifies women’s business enterprises based outside of the U.S. that are at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by one or more women, and then connects them with qualified buyers.

Vital Voices Global Partnership (www.vitalvoices.org) invests in women leaders who improve the world. Founded by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and guided by the belief that women are essential to progress in their communities, we partner in over 140 countries to advance economic opportunity, increase political and public leadership, and end violence against women.

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