WashPost: Goldman, State Dept. team up to help women

From: noreply@washingtonpost.com [mailto:noreply@washingtonpost.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 9:53 AM
To: Jennifer Nevin
Subject: WashPost: Goldman, State Dept. team up to help women

 

Goldman, State Dept. team up to help women 

By Jia Lynn Yang

A woman in a developing country running her own small business can face any number of obstacles: discrimination, limited access to funding and little education on how to manage the balance sheet of her company or win more customers.

Divya Keshav, from Dehli, India, had no idea how to run her family's struggling label-printing business when she took over the company in 2008. Keshav participated in a four-month training program through 10,000 Women and as a result she says her sales doubled last year.

"The program has had a wonderful effect on me," said Keshav. "I've learned business skills that I lacked earlier."

The program has other ties to the Obama administration through Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, who served as a lead consultant for the program before joining the White House. Sperling drew some heat from critics for getting paid $887,727 from Goldman for his advice on the charity.

The relationship between Washington and Goldman Sachs has a long history. The federal government has often tapped the firm's executives for top policymaking posts. But the company's standing inside the Beltway took a hit after it took a federal bailout in 2008 and faced questions about its activities in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Goldman's charitable arm, known as Goldman Sachs Foundation, has assets of more than $550 million.  

Divya Keshav, from Dehli, India, had no idea how to run her family's struggling label-printing business when she took over the company in 2008. Keshav participated in a four-month training program through 10,000 Women and as a result she says her sales doubled last year.

"The program has had a wonderful effect on me," said Keshav. "I've learned business skills that I lacked earlier."

The program has other ties to the Obama administration through Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, who served as a lead consultant for the program before joining the White House. Sperling drew some heat from critics for getting paid $887,727 from Goldman for his advice on the charity.

The relationship between Washington and Goldman Sachs has a long history. The federal government has often tapped the firm's executives for top policymaking posts. But the company's standing inside the Beltway took a hit after it took a federal bailout in 2008 and faced questions about its activities in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Goldman's charitable arm, known as Goldman Sachs Foundation, has assets of more than $550 million.