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Islamabad, Pakistan, October 27, 2020 – WEConnect International is launching its Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification in Pakistan, which will be available to women-owned businesses that are ready to scale and grow in global supply chains.
The launch is made possible through a project funded by the Vital Voices Global Partnership. WBE Certification will offer a formal verification for businesses that are at least 51% owned, managed and controlled by one or more women. WEConnect International’s certification is recognized by its more than 100 member buyers, primarily Fortune 500 companies that have made a commitment to source products and services from women-owned businesses globally.
On November 20, 2020, WEConnect International will publicly launch in Pakistan at a virtual event hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council, in celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week. The event will spotlight leaders in the business community and growth-oriented women-owned businesses.
Research conducted by McKinsey estimates that $4.5 trillion could be added to the countries of Asia Pacific’s annual GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s empowerment. Globally women-owned businesses earn less than 1 percent of the money spent on vendors by large corporations and governments.
In Pakistan, only eight percent of the country’s firms are majority-owned by women. Connecting these businesses to supply chains can create new jobs and help to close gender gaps in economic involvement, which would increase national GDP by 30%.
In addition, large buyers sourcing from Pakistan (including businesses, government agencies and nonprofits) are interested in diversifying their supply chains. But in a survey conducted among 83 buyer representatives, only 36 percent of respondents said their organization procured from women suppliers.
WEConnect International connects women-owned businesses with buyers outside of the United States. The WEConnect International eNetwork is a global online database with nearly 10,000 women-owned businesses and more than 100 member buyers. In 2018, thirty-eight percent of women-owned businesses in the WEConnect International network experienced revenue growth greater than 10 percent and one in three businesses said that the network had increased the visibility of their enterprises. Click here for more information about WBE Certification and to submit your application.
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For more information or media interviews, please contact, Angela Walker, VP of Communications, at awalker@weconnectinternational.org or +1-202-446-8840.
For details on WBE Certification please contact Melanie Oliver, at Registration@weconnectinternational.org
For corporate membership, contact mtobolski@weconnectinternational.org, or online at https://weconnectinternational.org/en/corporate-membership/membership-opportunities
