Two high-tension quarters have passed this year. For anyone reading the headlines, it would be easy to forget that activities supporting access to economics, entrepreneurship and legal knowledge are still going on, and that for all the attention-grabbing headlines, individual North Koreans continue to innovate and develop their own ideas for new businesses they would like to start up. Some of these businesses might someday change the entrepreneurial and business landscape in the country. In the last 2 quarters, our programs have directly reached close to 100 North Koreans with a focus on business skills training for female managers and entrepreneurs through our Women in Business initiative. We have also covered fiscal and monetary topics focused on tackling inflation. Programs have taken place both in country and overseas.
Some program statistics for the ~90 participants overall for in-country and overseas programs in the first half of this year:
~55% female participation for in-country Women in Business program
~73% of participants between 20-40 years old
~14.2% selectivity ratio (1 out of 7) for overseas component
~ 2 workshops and incubation programs overseas and 2 workshops in-country