Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurs in Liberia Awarded Opportunity to Further Business Development Skills

Three Graduates of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Awarded Scholarships to Attend Training Course at Louisiana's Southern University

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three budding businesswomen, all participants in the 10,000 Women Certificate Program for Entrepreneurs in Liberia, funded by Goldman Sachs and The Goldman Sachs Foundation and implemented by CHF International, were awarded the opportunity to travel to the United States for a six-week business training course at Southern University, in Louisiana. They arrived September 13 and concluded the program this past weekend, where they learned about the operations of successful American businesses and interacted with business owners via job shadowing and mentoring.

The program, called Leadership and Management Professional Skills Development Program (LAMPS), is part of a two-way exchange between Southern University and the University of Liberia. Tina Kpan, Veria Woodson, and Yvonne Morlue graduated from CHF International's 10,000 Women Certificate Program in 2009 and are among 15 Liberians who won scholarships to LAMPS.

"With the unemployment rate in Liberia higher than 80 percent, many women are starting their own businesses to make a livelihood," said Brett Sedgewick, CHF International Country Director for Liberia. "Since they often lack a formal academic background in business management, programs like LAMPS and Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Women are playing an essential role in helping women of Liberia rebuild their country, one business at a time."

While CHF International implements 10,000 Women in Liberia, the program goes beyond one country. Goldman Sachs launched the five-year campaign in March 2008 to foster greater shared economic growth by providing business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world.

ABOUT CHF INTERNATIONAL

CHF International is an international development organization founded in 1952 that works in post-conflict, unstable and developing countries. We partner with communities around the world to help them to improve and direct their lives and livelihoods. We believe that the people best suited to decide what a community needs are the people of the community itself. CHF is a politically neutral, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, visit.

ABOUT GOLDMAN SACHS' 10,000 WOMEN

10,000 Women is a five-year investment by Goldman Sachs to provide 10,000 underserved women around the world with a business and management education. 10,000 Women operates through a network of more than 70 academic and non-profit partners to develop locally relevant coursework for students and to improve the quality and capacity of business education.

SOURCE CHF International