The UPS Foundation expanded our 60-year partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in 2023 and established initiatives to cultivate a pipeline of skilled multicultural professionals equipped with technical training and/or a university education. We announced a $1M scholarship fund to support African American, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander and Native American students pursuing technical certifications, two-year associate degrees or four-year college degrees. We also contributed $250K to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
Through partnerships with government agencies, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders, The UPS Foundation leverages influence and education to help women around the world overcome barriers to free trade. The Women Exporters Programme provides targeted assistance to help women-owned small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. More than 100K women and small business owners have been trained since the programme launched in 2018.
We are proud to partner with the International Trade Centre on the ITC SheTrades programme to enhance the competitiveness of women-led businesses across the globe through workshops, webinars, coaching and e-learning courses. We know that when women thrive, communities thrive.
The result? In 2023, the programme had an impact on nearly 1.2K women from 57 countries – predominantly from Africa, Asia and Latin America – and generated an average of nearly $900,000 in investment leads for women entrepreneurs.
Additionally, 96% of participants reported improved skills in e-commerce, marketing, sustainable practices and accessing funds. 91% of participants also reported that they implemented changes to their business operations as a result of our capacity-building activities.