Vital Voices is a global partnership to support women's progress in building democracies, strong economies and peace. Its work focuses on three critical areas: expanding women's roles in politics and civil society; increasing women's successful entrepreneurship; and fighting trafficking in women and girls and other human rights abuses.

Center for International Private Enterprise
www.cipe.org

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) is an independent, non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. One of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, CIPE promotes democratic and market-oriented economic reform directly via the private sector in developing countries.

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is a U.S.-headquartered non-profit organization improving the quality of life and standard of living around the world by teaching the principles and values of free market economics and entrepreneurship.

Constituency for Africa
www.cfanet.org

CFA, a 12-year-old nonprofit 501(C) 3 corporation, presents the Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series each year in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference.

Since 1998, AASBEA has been engaged in groundbreaking research initiatives to identify and understand the needs of minority, immigrant, and women-owned firms engaged in global trade and e-commerce. AASBEA has been retained by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the U.S. Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and Howard University.

Uganda offers an exceptional opportunity for business in the heart of Africa and is already the preferred home of several leading global corporations and international organizations. One of the fastest growing economies (+6%) and one of the most liberal countries for foreign investment in Africa, it is an ideal place to set up a bridgehead to access African markets.

Nearly 20 million small businesses have received help from SBA programs since 1953. SBA's current portfolio of roughly 219,000 loans worth more than $45 billion makes it the largest single financial backer of businesses in the USA.