In honor of International Women’s Day and its theme #BreakTheBias, Meta, formerly known as the Facebook Company, celebrates the resilience of women entrepreneurs and community leaders across the Asia Pacific region, including Sri Lanka.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women socially and economically. According to the Global State of Small Business Report, female-owned small businesses faced more closures and lower sales performance than male-owned businesses, with 20 percent of female-owned businesses and 16 percent of male-owned businesses reporting deaths.
Sri Lankan women have come together online to empower others and drive positive change in their communities despite unprecedented challenges.
More than 60 percent of women-owned business pages in Sri Lanka have been set up on Facebook since the pandemic began, and there has been a more than 75 percent increase in female-owned Instagram businesses, according to the meta-analysis.
As of 2021, 50 percent of entrepreneurship Facebook groups in Sri Lanka were founded by women.
“Throughout history we have seen women show amazing resilience, and even 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 all the more important that we help unleash their entrepreneurial potential to create a more resilient, inclusive and equal society,” said Head of APAC Community Partnerships at Meta Grace clapham
Over the past year, Meta has partnered with 18 community organizations and government partners to deliver more than 275 training sessions to over 20,000 women entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific.
The social media company is also encouraging people in Sri Lanka to join the #BuyFromHer campaign on Facebook and Instagram to inspire others to shop at local women-owned businesses.
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