Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much to our guests for being here.
Mr. Guarino, I'm going to address my comments to you because we have you for such a short time. First of all, I want to say that in achieving the millennium development goals, Canada is the only country in the world that has paid up on its financial commitments to the various global funds. Regardless of the percentage that people talk about, it's the actual money in hand that really makes the difference.
Contrary to what my opposition may think, I have run a business, and I know there is nothing wrong with self-interest in business. You need to have a return on your investments in order to grow your business and to continue investing in some of these other good funds you are putting money into.
I'm very interested in this part of your presentation where you talked about the fact that you are enabling the empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs worldwide across our value chain. I wonder if you could expand on that.
You know that our whole discussion here has been about the involvement of the private sector in helping us to achieve our development goals. There are those of us who see private sector involvement and growth in emerging economies as the key to seeing these countries become enabled economies.
I wonder if you could expand on exactly what's happening with women. How are they growing these micro-businesses? What impact is that having on the general economy?