NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The forum will span three days and be located outside of North America and Europe in order to promote global participation. The three days of the agenda will involve both thematic discussions on current topics and breakout sessions for specific stakeholder groups and approaches. The forum is being organized and hosted by the SEEP Network in collaboration with key industry stakeholders. Thought leaders and experienced practitioners in women’s economic empowerment in market systems are guiding the development of the conference agenda working alongside the SEEP Network’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Working Group.

The Opening Plenary will focus on ‘Economic’ versus ‘Non-Economic’ Empowerment: A False Dichotomy while key themes that are emerging as a priority for the forum include:

• The Rural Poor: Women’s Empowerment on and off the Farm
• Employment Opportunities through Enterprise Development and Job Creation
• Women’s Financial Inclusion: Leveraging Finance to Advance Women’s Empowerment