Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will pledge $100 million to World Bank’s Women Entrepreneurs Fund during an event in Riyadh that Ivanka Trump is set to attend on Sunday.
“This facility has clear alignment with our broader work to advance women’s economic empowerment,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. “We look forward to launching the facility later this year.”
Trump proposed the fund as a way to assist women in the Middle East who want to start their own businesses but live in a repressive society.
Women in the region must be covered from head to toe while in public, receive permission from a “male guardian” before leaving the house and cannot drive.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined President Trump on his visit to Saudi Arabia, the first stop in his initial overseas trip as president.
At a weekend event, Ivanka Trump encouraged a group of accomplished Saudi women to keep making strides forward.
“In every country, including the United States, women and girls face challenges,” Trump said. “Saudi Arabia’s progress, especially in recent years, is very encouraging … but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
