Columbia Business School announced on December 22, 2008, that it is launching efforts to support female entrepreneurs and strengthen business education in Africa.

“One of the strengths of 10,000 Women is the outstanding network of partners who work together to open opportunities for individual women, to build long-term educational capacity and to foster shared economic growth,” said Dina Powell, managing director and global head of corporate engagement at Goldman Sachs.

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative will focus on building capacity at two African partner schools, the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya and the University of Dar es Salaam in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Columbia Business School faculty members working on the ground in Africa will collaborate with other partner schools to develop high-quality programming that is customized to the local business environment, with a special emphasis on underserved women.

The program will feature such activities as co-teaching and faculty mentoring; curriculum development, including case studies and courses in entrepreneurship, finance and nonprofit management; PhD mentoring and research-methodology seminars; and student consulting projects.

Faculty members will also consult in the development of certificate programs in entrepreneurship and business management for women.

“We are proud to be part of the groundbreaking Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, and commend its bold vision of promoting broadly shared economic growth,” said Dean Glenn Hubbard.

“Through our collaboration with key partner schools in Nairobi and Tanzania, we will seek to deliver the highest-quality business education to the region’s entrepreneurs and managers, with the belief that business sector development is the key to igniting growth and reducing poverty.”

Goldman sachs Kenya Investment