Pro Mujer and GIZ Bring Together More Than 180 Women Entrepreneurs from Southeast Mexico for Gathering on Digital Transformation

After multiple days of activities, Digital Entrepreneurship Week came to a close with the Digital Transformation Gathering for Women Entrepreneurs,which washosted at the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. Over 180 women entrepreneurs participated in the event, including 60 women from Oaxaca, Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche, and Tabasco, who were able to join thanks to scholarships that covered their transportation costs.

The event was part of the Impulso Digital program, a joint initiative between Pro Mujer and GIZ funded through a grant agreement to support MSMEs and women entrepreneurs. The program seeks to contribute to developing local digital ecosystems and support sustainable, inclusive, and fair digital transformation.

The program focused on strengthening the technical and soft skills necessary for sustainable digital transformation. Over five days, intensive workshops were held across Southeast Mexico on tools and technologies for entrepreneurship.

The program concluded with an in-person event full of conferences, workshops, panels, presentations, and collaborative spaces led by representatives and partners from Pro Mujer, GIZ, and the information and communication technologies sector. First thing in the morning, leaders from organizations committed to equality and inclusion discussed the gender gap that impacts the development of technological skills and shared the work their organizations are doing to address this disparity. The session included Monica Ducoing (Pro Mujer Country Representative in Mexico), Lupina Loperena (Director of Philanthropy at Microsoft Mexico), and Ledénika Méndez (Executive Director of Digital Education at the Ministry of Communications and Transportation).

“In Mexico, women own more than a third of micro, small, and medium enterprises in the manufacturing, retail, and non-financial services sectors,” said Mónica Ducoing. “Women are excellent entrepreneurs, and it is vital to establish strategic partnerships to provide necessary support and encourage women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and move into digital. We’re extremely grateful to GIZ for trusting us and working with us to scale our impact in Southeast Mexico.”

The event also focused on building networks. A panel led by lberto Farca (Chief Project Officer at CMD) focused on sharing different strategies to support and promote digital transformation. María José Cespedes (Chief Product Officer at Latimpacto) also worked with participants to identify common ground and establish mutually beneficial synergies.

“In Mexico, women own more than a third of micro, small, and medium enterprises in the manufacturing, retail, and non-financial services sectors,” said Mónica Ducoing. “Women are excellent entrepreneurs, and it is vital to establish strategic partnerships to provide necessary support and encourage women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and move into digital. We’re extremely grateful to GIZ for trusting us and working with us to scale our impact in Southeast Mexico.”

The event also focused on building networks. A panel led by lberto Farca (Chief Project Officer at CMD) focused on sharing different strategies to support and promote digital transformation. María José Cespedes (Chief Product Officer at Latimpacto) also worked with participants to identify common ground and establish mutually beneficial synergies.

“I’m an artisan from Chiapas, and today we’re in Mérida to earn more about how to use technology to improve our businesses,” said Esperanza Díaz, a Pro Mujer client in Chiapas. “I’m really excited to be here with other women entrepreneurs, and I’m thankful to Pro Mujer for everything we’ve learned in the courses.”

The event was also full of opportunities to learn about and discuss new technologies. Abel Valdez, Co-founder and Co-director of Accionar.io, led a discussion on the increasingly important role of AI in business. Mauricio Leal de Taravy shared helpful tips on how to use social networks to boost business.

The events implemented as part of the “Impulso Digital” project complemented Pro Mujer’s activities in Southeast Mexico, including providing women with entrepreneurship training and skilling opportunities, dynamic content, and financial and health services.

About Pro Mujer

For more than 33 years, Pro Mujer has provided services and tools to women in Latin America so they can reach their full potential and become agents of change in their communities. The organization’s comprehensive, holistic model is focused on facilitating women’s financial inclusion in Latin America, expanding access to health services, and providing skilling and training opportunities.

Pro Mujer is a pioneer in gender lens investing in Latin America and works to raise awareness of how it can be used to close existing gender gaps and boost productivity. Its work is closely aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and contributes tangible results to the following SDGs:

1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, and 16.

For more information, please visit www.promujer.org.

About GIZ

On behalf of the German Federal Government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH advises the Mexican government and other decision-makers and partners on various issues.

The organization’s objectives in the country are primarily focused on environmental protection and sustainable development, including the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, the promotion of good governance and the strengthening of civil society and the rule of law, environmentally friendly urban and industrial development, and sustainable energy and climate protection.

GIZ Mexico collaborates on multi-stakeholder capacity-building initiatives and works to strengthen public policies and develop financial mechanisms to support and strengthen climate action through climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and move towards a just and inclusive energy transition.

For more information, please visit www.giz.de/mexico-mx.