Fifteen business mentors and over 30 entrepreneurs engaged in a one-on-one mentoring event sponsored by the U.S. Government's Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) and the Association for Women's Total Advancement and Development, in cooperation with the Women Business Development Centre. “Supporting women business owners is crucial to promoting increased prosperity for Egypt's families," said Mary Ott, Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) which is funding the GEP program. “Mentoring helps new entrepreneurs to address barriers they face in growing their businesses in realistic and powerful ways. It provides them with valuable networks to build their businesses and create jobs." Mentoring brings experienced women business owners together with new entrepreneurs to provide a deeper understanding of the business world. It helps them address challenges such as lack of business skills and lack of access to modern technologies, market linkages, and financing. It can help women across Egypt who have entrepreneurial ideas and inspiration turn those ideas into successful businesses. Through USAID's Global Entrepreneurship Program, the United States supports Egypt's economic growth by providing training, mentoring, and links to financing for entrepreneurs – men and women. Since 2011, this program has helped launch 46 start-up companies in Egypt, 18 of which are owned by women, and has supported those businesses to create 166 new jobs.
