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Meta celebrates IWD and Sri Lankan women entrepreneurs 

11 Mar 2022

In honour of International Women’s Day and its theme #BreakTheBias, Meta, formerly known as the Facebook Company, is celebrating the resilience of women entrepreneurs and community leaders across the Asia-Pacific region, including Sri Lanka.  The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted women both socially and economically. According to the Global State of Small Business Report, women-led small businesses faced more closures and lower sales performance than businesses led by men, with 20% of women-led businesses and 16% of men-led businesses reporting closures.  Sri Lankan women have been coming together online to empower others and drive positive change in their communities despite the unparalleled challenges. According to the Meta analysis, more than 60% of female-led business pages in Sri Lanka were set up on Facebook since the pandemic began and there has been an increase of more than 75% in Instagram businesses owned by women. Since 2021, 50% of Facebook groups about entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka have been created by women. “Throughout history, we have seen women show astonishing resilience, and more so in the last two years as the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic together. With women making up half of business owners in Asia Pacific, it is even more important that we help unlock their entrepreneurial potential, to create a more resilient, inclusive, and equal society,” said Meta Asia Pacific (APAC) Community Partnerships Director Grace Clapham.  Over the last year, Meta has partnered with 18 community organisations and government partners to conduct more than 275 training sessions for over 20,000 women entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific. The social media company is also encouraging people in Sri Lanka to participate in the #BuyFromHer campaign on Facebook and Instagram to inspire others to shop from local women-owned businesses.  For more information about how Meta is providing access to resources and training for women-owned businesses, visit www.facebook.com/business/shemeansbusiness.


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