It is a platform that allows women entrepreneurs in Latin America to take a program that will offer them tools and knowledge to improve their business strategy, with the objective of growing their businesses.
This is a multi-phase training program in which a select group of 40 women entrepreneurs will receive training, mentoring to develop a robust business plan, regional networking and personalized follow-up, for 6 months after completion of the plan to measure success in implementation, in order to accelerate or grow their businesses.
What is LEADS Academy for Women - Coope Ande?
This project seeks to provide Costa Rican businesswomen with tools and knowledge to improve their business strategy, evaluate the direction of their companies, rethink, forecast, budget, stabilize their supply chains and use new technologies to their advantage.
According to the World Bank, in Latin America, SMEs led by women are 11% more likely to close in the crisis than those led by men, reaching a 40% probability of closure at this time. This issue is relevant because if their businesses improve, the economy of our countries will undoubtedly improve.
In this context, a powerful alliance that will benefit women entrepreneurs is born: Coope Ande and the Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership (CELIS) of INCAE launch the LEADS ACADEMY FOR WOMEN program that will provide a partial scholarship to a select group of 40 women entrepreneurs from all areas of Costa Rica to receive training, mentoring and access to networks for more than a year (program starts in February 2023) in order to accelerate or grow their businesses.
In this virtual module, which is scheduled for the months of February and March 2023*, taught by INCAE, entrepreneurs receive training and tools on business strengthening topics such as: innovative business models, operations, sales and marketing, marketing, digital transformation, finance and growth strategies.
In addition, the entrepreneurs receive guidance on how to apply all the knowledge acquired in an acceleration project for their companies. As a complement, training and exchange sessions are organized to facilitate networking among the entrepreneurs.
*Exact dates to be defined.
After the academic module, participants receive mentoring sessions and supervision of their acceleration project.
For three months, in a personalized way, expert mentors help them develop a clearer vision of their company's future and strategies for growth and internationalization.
The entrepreneurs will attend the Campus at INCAE, for 1 week in August 2023, to receive training in communication skills and access to finance.
To put their knowledge into practice, they present their acceleration project to a jury composed of professors from INCAE, company executives and representatives of Coope Ande, who will evaluate them and select the 3 most outstanding projects, which will receive financial recognition.
In the final stage, each participant receives personalized follow-up for 3 months by their mentors.
The purpose of the mentoring is to measure the success in the implementation of your acceleration project, make adjustments and an accurate measurement of improvements for your business.
The LEADS Academy for Women program, aimed at women entrepreneurs, is structured in 4 phases and seeks to provide tools to develop competencies and skills that encourage them to think creatively and accelerate their businesses.
To apply for the partial scholarship, entrepreneurs must meet the following requirements:
