SDGs and Her competition winners celebrated in New York
The global winners of the SDGs
and Her competition have been celebrated at a side-event during the high-level
week of the UN General Assembly.
The contest—co-sponsored by the
World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin
Center—showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their businesses.
The first-place winner is
Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries, owned by Lucy Odiwa, which produces
reusable sanitary pads, post-partum maternity pads, and child and adult
diapers, and also promotes menstrual health hygiene management in schools.
The lack of menstrual health
hygiene management products and knowledge often hinders the ability of
low-income women and girls to work and attend school, Odiwa says. Her business
is helping Tanzania to achieve SDG target 3.7 (women’s health) and SDG target
4.1 (girls’ access to education).
The second-place winner is Mukuru
Clean Stoves of Kenya, owned by Charlot Magayi, which recycles waste metals to
produce improved, reliable, and affordable cooking stoves to reduce indoor air
pollution, a major health challenge in the developing world. Her business
addresses SDG 8 (decent work), SDG 1 (end poverty), and SDG 3 (good health).
“We know that the world cannot
achieve the SDGs without the full participation of women in societies and
economies,” said World Bank Group Senior Vice President Mahmoud Mohieldin. “By
organizing such a competition, the SDGs and Her Initiative creates a unique
opportunity for women entrepreneurs to showcase their contribution to the SDGs
and inspires other entrepreneurs around the world to do their part by sharing
best practices and innovative ideas.”
“These inspiring SDG and Her
participants show us why women entrepreneurs are such critical players,” said
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN
Women. “When they thrive, women entrepreneurs create jobs for themselves and
others. They also generate products and services that enrich society as a
whole. They are vibrant leaders in the private sector and drivers of the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. UN Women looks forward to
working collaboratively with these pathbreaking initiatives and companies in the
years to come.”
“Without gender equality and
women’s empowerment we will not achieve the SDGs,” Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UN
Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Development Policy Bureau
stated. “Women entrepreneurs contribute greatly to their families, communities
and economies. The winners of this competition are perfect examples of how
women innovate and provide solutions that open doors for other women and girls
to pursue their aspirations.”
Over 1,200 entries from 88
countries were submitted, and while nearly half of the entries were from
Sub-Saharan Africa, submissions were received from every region of the world,
including Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, the Middle East and
North Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific.
The SDGs and Her competition
seeks to increase knowledge about the SDGs and their potential impact on women,
as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and
innovative ideas.
The SDGs and Her competition is
open to women who own and/or lead micro-enterprises with nine or fewer
employees, and which have loan eligibility under US $10,000 or annual sales
under US $100,000. Applicants completed a short online template, describing
their work and linking their initiative/product to one or more SDGs.
Entries will be accepted for the
2019 competition between 24 September and 31 December, 2018 and winners will be
announced in early 2019.
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