Managing Director of Value for Women, Rebecca has over 15 years of global experience in gender and development. She has advised economic development and entrepreneurship programs that seek to incorporate a gender component or an overall gender lens, and supported design of investment funds focused on women-led small and growing businesses, addressing the gap in access to finance for women entrepreneurs.
Rebecca has authored several publications on gender, entrepreneurship and economic development and on access to markets and value chains for smallholders. Fries has over ten years of expertise in design and delivery of research and training programmes focused on gender, entrepreneurship and development with diverse populations. She has designed and delivered training to high-level management in development initiatives, as well as facilitated workshops with diverse stakeholders in the finance sector for small and growing business.