Originally published by One Young World

In this challenging year, the power of women in leadership was brought into high relief. Female leaders across the world steered their countries with resolve and compassion through the pandemic crisis and many of the most successful responses emerged from women-led countries: Taiwan, Germany, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. But even with growing representation in leadership in some countries, women all over the world are still subject to discriminatory laws, unequal pay, lack of access to healthcare, education and business opportunities. And yet, through it all, women still drive an enormous amount of the economic activity in the world (over $18T) with women-owned/operated small businesses playing a critical role driving economic growth and providing livelihoods for their communities and families. In partnership with One Young World and Lead2030, we want to continue to support and promote women in business because we know that women’s economic empowerment is crucial to realizing women’s rights, gender equality and drives sustainability.

Every year, AB InBev engages with millions of small business partners, many female owned or operated, across its value chain, from small scale farmers growing crops to micro-retailers engaging with consumers. These small businesses often lack access to formal business skills, affordable financial products or business infrastructure and it can limit their ability to grow and thrive, and to provide an adequate income for their families. In addition to supporting business and financial inclusion, solving environmental issues is essential to women’s empowerment. Women and girls are more likely to suffer from water and sanitation issues, air pollution and environmental degradation.

100+/AB InBev is proud to support the Lead2030 Challenge for SDG 5. The Challenge aims to find and support solutions that will empower women and close the equality gap ensuring a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

The challenge welcomes solutions from an innovative female founded company that provide solutions to or solves any of the following:

• Infrastructure solutions that provide women-owned/operated small enterprises with opportunities to improve their access to energy, sanitation and security

• Digital skills training solutions that measurably and lastingly improve the knowledge and practices of women-owned/operated small enterprises, with the potential for significant scale

• Affordable, accessible financial products (e.g. low-interest loan products, crop insurance)

• Renewable energy technology with super high efficiency for trucking, rail, ocean and air including biofuel, electric, wind, solar and water - that are accessible for the entire market

• New packaging materials to eliminate/reduce plastic, increasing recycled content and/or new ways to incorporate our supply chain waste into our packaging materials

• Alternatives to increase recycling and reuse PET

• New solutions to improve water quality or availability in high stressed watersheds.

AB InBev

AB InBev

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: ABI) based in Leuven, Belgium, with an American Depository Receipt secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD). It is the leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies.

Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people together for thousands of years and our portfolio of well over 200 beer brands continues to forge strong connections with consumers. We invest the majority of our brand-building resources on our Focus Brands - those with the greatest growth potential such as global brands Budweiser®, Stella Artois® and Beck’s®, alongside Leffe®, Hoegaarden®, Bud Light®, Skol®, Brahma®, Antarctica®, Quilmes®, Michelob Ultra®, Harbin®, Sedrin®, Klinskoye®, Sibirskaya Korona®, Chernigivske®, Hasseröder® and Jupiler®. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidiary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer and owner of the global Corona® brand. AB InBev’s dedication to heritage and quality originates from the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium dating back to 1366 and the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery, with origins in St. Louis, USA since 1852. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, AB InBev leverages the collective strengths of its approximately 116,000 employees based in 23 countries worldwide. In 2011, AB InBev realized 39.0 billion USD revenue. The company strives to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World. For more information, please visit: www.ab-inbev.com.

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