Ivanka Trump is adviser to the President. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion articles at CNN.

(CNN) I recently traveled to Africa to advance the White House's Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, or W-GDP, which seeks to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025. We will work to achieve this goal by supporting women in the workplace, helping them succeed as entrepreneurs, and by advancing legal reforms that will create greater gender equality.

Ivanka Trump

The most remarkable part of the trip was connecting with women from across the continent who have overcome tremendous barriers to pave the way to change. Their stories are tangible proof of what is possible if we deliver smart development assistance to empower women to succeed in their economies.

In Ethiopia, I met Sara Abera. Fourteen years ago, Sara started Muya, a textiles and pottery manufacturing business. With assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and private sector partners, she has grown her business from less than 10 to nearly 600 employees. Sara hires and trains women, creating a direct multiplier effect, benefiting thousands of families far past the initial investment of American foreign development assistance. Today, Sara is Ethiopia's top exporter of handmade woven garments and pottery and her products sit on the shelves of stores across the United States.

Sara's model for success is one we want to replicate. Her journey illuminates the goal of strategic development assistance: helping people, communities and, ultimately, countries, transition from recipients of United States assistance to self-reliant trading partners.

Access to the financing is one of the greatest challenges women like Sara face in Africa, and throughout the developing world. That is why, during my trip, I was proud to announce a new landmark program within W-GDP: 2X Africa. Through financing through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), 2X Africa seeks to directly invest $350 million to help mobilize over $1 billion in capital to support women-owned, women-led, and women-supporting projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

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