Goldman Sachs Announces New 10,000 Women Partnership
CHF and OPIC Partner with Academic Program to Provide Business and Management Education to Women in Liberia

NEW YORK, September 26, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) Chairman and CEO, Lloyd C. Blankfein, alongside the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, yesterday announced at the United Nations that the firm has partnered with CHF International (CHF) and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to train underserved Liberian women in business and management. CHF is a non- profit development organization and OPIC is a US government agency that promotes private sector investment in developing economies.

As part of the firm’s 10,000 Women initiative, this partnership is designed to provide the fundamental business education needed to create a larger pool of potential loan recipients for the Liberian Enterprise Development Company (LEDFC). LEDFC represents a collaboration between Robert L. Johnson, CHF and OPIC. LEDFC supports small and medium sized enterprises, and currently represents 50 percent of the loan capital available to small businesses in Liberia.

Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women initiative is working with leading academic institutions and development organizations to implement innovative business education programs throughout the world. Building on 30 previously-announced partnerships, Goldman Sachs will work with CHF and Cuttington University in Liberia to develop and deliver a short-term certificate program to train underserved women in business management. Over the next five years, the program will select and train 300 underserved Liberian women entrepreneurs with the skills they need to develop quality business plans, access capital, and ultimately grow their small and medium businesses. The scholars of the program will develop skills such as accounting, marketing, human resource management, production, and quality control.

“We are very pleased to expand the 10,000 Women initiative by working with esteemed partners, CHF International and OPIC, to provide women in Liberia with both the critical knowledge and practical tools needed to help them develop their businesses,” said Dina Powell, Managing Director and Global Head of the Office of Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs. "Access to capital is one of the key challenges facing small and medium sized enterprises in Liberia. This unique collaboration will allow us to help address this challenge by building a qualified pool of applicants positioned to access the funds that are available and leverage them to achieve their growth potential."

The 10,000 Women program was launched March 5, 2008. It is a global initiative that provides 10,000 underserved women, predominantly in developing and emerging markets, with business and management education. Goldman Sachs committed $100 million over the next five years and has partnered with universities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and United States to seek, create and develop programs to impact the quality and capacity of business education for women in developing regions around the world. For further information on the 10,000 Women program, please visit the web site at www.10000women.org.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.