NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs launched a $100 million project on Wednesday to offer business training to women in developing countries.

Announcing the program ahead of International Women's Day on Saturday, it said strengthening education for women was "a critical and underutilized lever for economic growth" in poor countries.

The five-year "10,000 Women" initiative will fund partnerships with universities and business schools in countries including Afghanistan, Egypt, Rwanda and Nigeria.

It will pay tuition for 10,000 women to attend business and management courses and work with local development groups to improve education and training for girls and young women.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N>, the world's largest securities firm by market value, reported record earnings of $11.6 billion last year on $46 billion in revenue. (Reporting by Claudia Parsons, editing by David Storey)

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