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Ivanka Trump champions women’s entrepreneur program following G20 Summit

Click to play video: 'Trump says if Ivanka wasn’t his daughter ‘it would be so much easier for her’'
Trump says if Ivanka wasn’t his daughter ‘it would be so much easier for her’
"If she weren't my daughter it would be so much easier for her," U.S. President Donald Trump said while talking about how proud he is of his daughter Ivanka Trump at G20 summit – Jul 8, 2017

The president wasn’t the only member of the Trump family that went into Group of 20 Summit with a plan of action.

On Saturday following the G20 meetings, The World Bank launched a private loan program aimed at providing over $1 billion to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries; a project initiated by the President’s daughter Ivanka Trump.

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Click to play video: 'Ivanka praises father for ‘solid conviction in the potential of women,’ gets booed'
Ivanka praises father for ‘solid conviction in the potential of women,’ gets booed

During the G20 meetings, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged $20 million to the program, along with a total contribution of $325 million from other nations, including Germany, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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“This is going to be what we hope will be a multi-billion dollar fund to support women entrepreneurs,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said at a launch attended by six of the 20 world leaders meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

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“This is not a cute little project. This is going to be a major driver of economic growth in the future … and it’s going to drive gender equality at the same time,” Kim continued.

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Trump praises Trudeau: ‘Justin doing a spectacular job’

The fund hopes to begin awarding loans before the end of the year, and wants to work with governments to “improve laws and regulations that are stifling women entrepreneurs.” The fund will also create an online mentoring tool to match female business owners in developing countries with advisers such as Ivanka herself.

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Trump’s role in the White House has been ambiguous since her father, Donald Trump, won the presidency in the 2016 federal election. She’s taken an active role in political decision making, meeting with leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Trudeau over the past few months.

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President Donald Trump took some time near the tail end of his G20 trip to speak at the event, saying that the initiative, dubbed We-Fi (Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative) would transform “millions and millions of lives.”

“I’m very proud of my daughter Ivanka. Always have been, have to tell you. From day one. She’s always been great. If she weren’t my daughter it would be so much easier for her,” exclaimed Trump in his speech.

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“I’m very proud of Ivanka, who’s been a forceful advocate for landmark women entrepreneurs. And she worked very hard for the women entrepreneurs finance initiative. So I want to thank you Ivanka for all of the great work you so in so many ways in addition to the great work you’ve done over the past few weeks…You’re helping women all over the world and I want to thank you,” the president concluded.

World leaders expressed their surprise that the project had been realized so swiftly since it was just initiated five months ago.

“If everything went as quickly at the World Bank … then we would be much more efficient,” Merkel remarked.

–With a file from Reuters. 

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