New e-commerce project in South America to empower 1,000 women entrepreneurs
- Eight-month free online training on ITC SheTrades and ecomConnect for women-led small and medium-sized enterprises in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay.
- SheTrades increases content offer in Spanish and promotes a networking community for women entrepreneurs.
- Alliances with specialized institutions in the four countries until June 2023.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) has launched the “SheTrades Latam & ecomConnect: Empowering women in e-commerce” pilot project to increase its services in Spanish, thereby meeting the needs of the women-led business in the region as they keep engaging in e-commerce.
Despite the sharp increase of e-commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other reasons, a notable gender gap in the business digital transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean still remains. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, women-led companies represent just 1% of the total volume of electronic transactions.
The project aims to expedite the inclusion of women in trade by promoting women-led companies in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay so that they can sell their products online and access national and international markets through virtual capacity training and access to an entrepreneur community that allows collaborative work and experience and knowledge sharing.
Between October 2022 and June 2023, ITC will cooperate with four local specialized institutions to furnish the participating women entrepreneurs with tools and methodologies in Spanish. The training sessions will be delivered through the shetrades.com virtual learning platform.
The courses available are self-paced and cover a wide range of topics related to e-commerce, such as market investigation and strategy, online sales channels, payment solutions, logistics or digital marketing techniques. The capacity training sessions will be complemented by workshops, video tutorials, debates and networking events that will enhance the collaboration and knowledge sharing at a regional level.
This project is funded by the SheTrades initiative and implemented by ITC “ecomConnect” e-commerce programme.
How to join the programme?
The programme is open to any woman leading a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (MSME) or working for a small women-led company in Argentina, Chile, Colombia or Uruguay manufacturing relevant products for online sell and from the following sectors: beauty and cosmetics, fashion, accessories, costume jewelry, crafts, toys, stationery or gourmet products, among others.
Interested people meeting the requirements can register here before October 10, 2022. The programme will start on October 24.
Quotes
"While many small businesses are embracing the digital transformation in Latin America, women entrepreneurs still face numerous obstacles while building and scaling their digital operations," says Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre. "Collaboration and training are key to increase the opportunities for women entrepreneurs, to improve their employment situation and to generate a positive impact in their communities", she added.
"The aim of this initiative is to continue supporting the women entrepreneurs and businesswomen community working with the Santiago Chamber of Commerce. Taking a step towards digitization will allow them to grow and strengthen their businesses and to improve their income," said María Teresa Vial, President of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (Chile).
About ITC SheTrades - The SheTrades initiative aims to break down the barriers that women face when trying to access economic opportunities. SheTrades collaborates with governments, Trade Promotion Organizations and the private sector to develop women's entrepreneurial skills and to develop a fairer and more sustainable global economy.
For more information, visit SheTrades.com: https://www.shetrades.com/
About ITC ecomConnect - The ITC ecomConnect program empowers micro, small and medium-sized businesses to sell online through its personalized learning programme, technical assistance, digital tools, innovative solutions and associations with public and private partners.
For more information, visit https://www.intracen.org/ecomConnect/ and https://ecomconnect.org/, the online community for e-commerce professionals.
About the ITC - The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, visit www.intracen.org
