Editors’ Note

Dina Powell joined Goldman Sachs in 2007 as a managing director. Prior to this, she served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Deputy Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy. Before this, she served as Assistant to the President. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.

Company Brief

Founded in 1869, the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (www.goldmansachs.com) is a leading global financial services firm that provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to a sizeable and diverse client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individual clients. Headquartered in New York, the firm maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and other significant financial centers around the world.

Goldman Sachs has worked closely with TechnoServe. What excited you about the organization and what makes TechnoServe an important partner for you?

We have seen firsthand how vital mentoring, advising, and networking are for entrepreneurs and have incorporated these support services into 10,000 Women programs. However, few organizations globally have experience designing and implementing successful support service programs for entrepreneurs. We were delighted that Technoserve was willing to share their unique expertise and best practices with us.

Would you provide an overview of some of the programs you have worked on with TechnoServe and the impact of these programs?

Last year, TechnoServe conducted a comprehensive evaluation of support service needs of women entrepreneurs and identified international best practices. This evaluation has informed our investments in these services and the design of 10,000 Women mentoring and advising programs, which help scholars translate what they learn in the classroom to their businesses.

Would you provide an overview of the 10,000 Women initiative created by Goldman Sachs?

10,000 Women is a five-year, $100-million investment in economic growth that provides business and management education to women around the world. We partner with more than 70 business schools and nonprofits, like TechnoServe, in 20 countries to provide women entrepreneurs practical business skills like accounting, human resources management, and marketing, as well as mentoring and networking. With this training, women are building businesses, and creating jobs and new opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.

The program is based on research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the World Bank, and others that found that investing in women’s labor force participation can have a significant impact on GDP growth.

How will TechnoServe partner with Goldman Sachs on the 10,000 Women program and what do they bring to these efforts?

Recently, we expanded our partnership with TechnoServe and have engaged them as a key advisor to 10,000 Women. We are working together in Brazil, China, and India, and over the next two years, we will collaborate with them to refine and strengthen support services offered by 10,000 Women partners globally.•