Jessica Schnabel will be presenting “Banking on Women: The Next Emerging Market,” at five p.m. on Monday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Jessica Schnabel is global product head for the Banking on Women line at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group. Through this, she works with financial institutions all over the world providing loans to support women entrepreneurs.

Schnabel has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Schnabel has also served three years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Guinea.

During the lecture, Schnabel will discuss women’s impact on global economy, despite legal, cultural and economic contexts which can causes challenges.

The World Bank Group is a group of five international organizations that makes up the largest source of funding and knowledge for developing countries.

These five groups are The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The International Development Association, The International Finance Corporation, The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

According to the Harvard Business review, women control around 20 trillion dollars in annual consumer spending, and earn 13 trillion dollars in total yearly earnings.

“Unfavorable business and regulatory environments are among the barriers that still impede women entrepreneurs from accessing finance,” states the Banking on Women’s website.

“IFC’s Banking on Women program is playing a catalyzing role for partners and financial institutions to help them to profitably and sustainably serve women-owned businesses.”

As head of the program, Schnabel is responsible for developing IFC’s global portfolio in order to improve financial services for women-led small and medium sized enterprises. Through this, her and her team have invested in and provided advisory solutions to over 60 financial institutions.

This program is part of the World Cultures Lecture Series and is co sponsored by the International Studies Program, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Committee on Lectures.