CommPRO Editorial StaffThe Annual International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day [WED] convenes at the United Nations in New York City on Friday, November 17th, 2017 to empower women and girls globally to help alleviate poverty. The grassroots mission and message to empower women and girls to become active participants in the economy by igniting a network of women leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to initiate startups, drive economic expansion, and advance communities around the world. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, WED builds and catalyzes the vital networks of like-minded individuals and organizations that women business leaders need to realize their full potential and change the world.“Historically, women worldwide have been underpaid, undervalued, underrepresented, underfunded and underestimated. We are dedicated, determined and driven to change this global imbalances," stated Wendy Diamond, Founder of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. WED convenes Business Leaders, Government Officials and Civil society in 144 countries & 100 Universities to collaborate and find solutions in critical areas of entrepreneurship eco-systems, education and policy creation to empower women in business worldwide.Since this campaign launched in 2013, WED has helped women around the world in various ways:

• In Jordan, the group funded 500 Syrian refugee girls so they could attend high school.
• In Oman, they launched an initiative to empower women and girls to vote against arranged marriage.
• And in Uruguay, a partnership with a local university offered scholarships to the girls.

Looking ahead, WED will be announcing the following goals on November 17th:

• Launch of the #ChooseWOMEN global platform, the largest directory of women-owned businesses in the world, allowing anyone, anywhere, to easily find and support women-owned businesses
• Support 1000 impoverished women through microloans to start their own businesses
• Expanded initiatives in Asia (New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai) and the Middle East (Yemen and Morocco)

Diamond was inspired to launch WED and the movement after spending time in the Honduras with the Adelante Foundation, a group which provides microcredit to locally impoverished women. “I saw first-hand how these start-up loans could change a woman's life, and her family's, by investing in her future and providing the opportunity for her children to attend school,” said Diamond.#ChooseWOMENWED will launch the #ChooseWOMEN initiative on November 29th, 2017, a global social media initiative inspiring women and men to pledge their support to women in business.