Ambassador Degnan’s Remarks to Media at Women in Business Leadership Conference
Question about the event
Ambassador Degnan: I want to thank Gazelle Finance for organizing this conference, which is focused on the importance of women’s leadership in business. Gazelle Finance, which is supported in part by $10 million from the Development Finance Corporation of the United States, has played a key role in attracting business investment to Georgia; and 30% of the companies that Gazelle Finance supports are women-owned and led. They’ve really shown a successful track record, and that’s a role model for other businesses in Georgia to see that women in leadership positions in businesses can lead to success. Women’s participation in business is critical to economic growth. We’ve seen that in many countries, including here in Georgia. When you have more women in a business, especially in leadership positions, you tend to have increased productivity. You tend to have better decision-making, and you tend to have better business outcomes. That is one of the reasons why we’ve been trying to encourage more women entrepreneurs in Georgia, supporting them through programs that USAID and the U.S. Embassy promote in order to give them support, to take their ideas and develop them into successful businesses that often support not just that woman’s business, but the whole community by creating good jobs and stimulating economic growth. This has been at the forefront of United States foreign policy under President Biden: to promote gender equality, to promote more women in business because we have seen that businesses with women involved in the decision-making are often the most successful and the most profitable businesses. So I’m thrilled to be here today with Dr. Kyte and Minister Turnava to be part of Gazelle Finance’s conference on women in business.