[Vnbiz] How Vietnam could benefit more from Corporate Philanthrophy initiatives

[Pham Thi Thanh An]

Dear CACC, 

According to the below piece of news “Goldman <http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:GS>  Sachs on Wednesday launched a $100m philanthropic effort.. to provide women, primarily in the developing world, with business and management education”. Their target are 10,000 women engaged in small businesses in developing countries. 

I hope that as many as possible Vietnamese can benefit from the sort of emerging corporate philanthropy initiatives like this both at global and local levels. With regard to this particular initiative, please help, if you can, find more information about their conditions (inc. if Vietnam is one of their target countries, application conditions and procedures, etc), so that we could spread the information around for potential beneficiaries. 

Regards,

An

 Goldman in $100m drive to educate women

By Ben White in New York 

Published: March 6 2008 01:15 | Last updated: March 6 2008 01:15

Goldman <http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:GS>  Sachs on Wednesday launched a $100m philanthropic effort, one of the largest in the Wall Street investment bank’s history, to provide women, primarily in the developing world, with business and management education.

The initiative, called 10,000 Women, is intended to target women already engaged in small businesses in developing countries and provide them with further training in subjects including marketing, e-commerce, accounting and accessing capital. 

The training would focus on certificate programmes that last from five weeks to six months.

Camfed, the educational charity backed by the Financial Times in its seasonal appeal <http://www.ft.com/appeal2007> , has been selected as a key partner. Although the bank would not confirm the final size of Camfed’s grant, the charity is expected to receive an initial $2m (€1.3m, £1m) over three years. 

Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, said in a statement: “10,000 Women focuses on a critical yet often overlooked area where we believe Goldman Sachs can use its resources and convening power to help build the foundation to expand the ranks of businesswomen, managers and entrepreneurs around the world.” 


Bank stimulated by FT’s appeal


The FT’s seasonal appeal for Camfed helped bring about a partnership between the educational charity and Goldman Sachs, writes Caroline Daniel. 

Today Camfed becomes a key partner in the bank’s $100m initiative to bring business skills to women in the developing world. 

An executive involved with the project said: “We at Goldman had already come to support and admire Camfed’s work. Yet, when we read in the FT how much they were seeking to make economic opportunity for ... female students an integral part of their mission, we realised they would be a perfect partner for our 10,000 Women initiative.

“We felt we could help them answer the ‘now what question’ for young women when they leave school.”

Camfed pays for girls in sub-Saharan Africa to attend secondary school and has created Cama – a group to help rural women school leavers develop business skills. 

Ann Cotton, Camfed’s founder and chief executive, said: “The FT seasonal appeal over the last two years has begun something remarkable that is continuing to bring benefits to girls and young women in Africa. Goldman Sachs saw our work highlighted in the FT and have unlocked some of their resources for girls in Africa.”

The FT appeal in 2007 raised £1.64m ($3.26m, €2.14m), which will put 5,463 girls through school. 

Announcing the initiative at a press conference at Columbia University, Mr Blankfein said the programme was in Goldman’s long-term economic interest. ”We not only follow GDP around the globe, we try to create it. That’s really where our bread is buttered.”

The first participant in the programme will be Iman Youssry, a 27-year-old furniture designer in Cairo. She spoke at the news conference of the many problems she faces, including finding and training workers, managing money, marketing and networking. 

“I don’t know many people who own a business like mine,” she said. 

Goldman executives say the effort, two years in the planning, follows research showing that boosting women’s education in developing countries sharply improves overall health and productivity.

Goldman research indicates that closing the gender gap in employment in key emerging markets could lift per capita income 10-14 per cent above baseline forecasts by 2020. 

The research also says higher levels of female education could have raised gross domestic product growth rates in emerging markets by 0.2 per cent over the past 10 years.

Goldman has undertaken many smaller philanthropic efforts in the past, including those through its Goldman Sachs Gives foundation. But the 10,000 Women initiative is one of the largest single commitments the bank has ever made.

It comes as Goldman continues to produce enormous profits, even as other banks suffer losses stemming from the subprime mortgage crisis. Philanthropic work such as this tends to soften a bank’s image. 

Under the programme, Goldman plans to provide funding and to work with universities and development organisations over the next five years.

The programme will initially aim to help 560 women in rural Zambia.

 

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