The Brazilian nonprofit organization “Mais Unidos” has partnered with the U.S. government to help women in Brazil learn to finance, market, sell, plan, and expand a business through the State Department’s program “Academy for Women Entrepreneurs*” (AWE).
Launched in 2019, the AWE program provides women entrepreneurs with knowledge, networks, and access to launch or create their businesses. It has already helped over 15,000 women in 80 countries around the world to start or expand businesses and adapt to the new economic realities resulting from Covid-19.
“All the content is aimed at a female audience, and the lectures and support are also provided by women,” said Sacha Senger, project manager at Mais Unidos. “We realized that the network created among them was something that also greatly aided their development as entrepreneurs.”
In 2021, “Mais Unidos” trained 90 women to be successful as businesswomen and plans to launch a new course in 2022.
Next, five former students from the 2021 program share how AWE helped them.
Maria Josilene de Santana already knows the difficulties of succeeding in the Information Technology (IT) sector. “I felt all the challenges of being a black, peripheral, and northeastern woman in Brazil running a company in the IT field,” she said. During the AWE program, she learned how to face these challenges and expand her software company, “Mangue Tecnologia.” Her advice to other women entrepreneurs? “Don’t give up,” says Maria Josilene. “You can’t let yourself be discouraged; it’s exactly the challenges that make me an even stronger entrepreneur in the face of the battles that will arise.”
Cleuza Souza created her own human resources and corporate management company, VirtuALL HRpartner, three years ago. She hoped that AWE would help her business thrive — and the experience was worth it. “During the program, I gained more confidence,” said Cleuza. “As a collaborative network of amazing women formed, we learned together and supported each other, and that strengthened us.”
Ana Lúcia B Santos, a former lawyer, opened her company, “Negócio Social Visão do Bem,” in Rio de Janeiro in 2017 with the aim of providing quality eye exams for underprivileged communities. Even seeing the need for quick ophthalmological treatment — in a region where the waiting time for an appointment can take up to nine months — she faced difficulties with business management and Brazil’s high tax burden.
The AWE provided her with a path forward. Ana Lúcia said that to grow, it is also necessary to prioritize networking. “Today, I see that sustainable and impactful growth for my business is feasible.” AWE showed Maira da Costa how to support her restaurant, “Free Soul Foods,” by capitalizing and working with other women entrepreneurs. “I realized many strengths that I didn’t even recognize in myself. I was able to better deal with impostor syndrome and built such a powerful sales pitch that I used it to negotiate with potential investors.”
Elaine V. Fossarti redirected her beauty products business to children’s clothing and women’s fashion by opening her company “Viela Kids Decor,” but she needed AWE’s help. “Entrepreneurship in Brazil is not easy,” she states. “There are many challenges, one of them being high taxes, in addition to prejudice and discrimination for being a woman and black.” AWE showed Elaine how to understand her customers and be more in tune with the broader business market as a whole, an experience she describes as “a game changer.”
Source: share.america.gov