Latin America is experiencing the increasing feminization of human mobility, with the number of women who have migrated across borders estimated to have doubled between 1960 and 2015, almost equaling the percentage of displaced men (UNHCR). In Colombia, the host country of the fourth edition of the GLI Forum LatAm, there are around 3 million migrants, 80% of whom, according to Felipe Orjuela, plan to settle in the country in the long term.
The intersection between migration, gender, and entrepreneurship is a key issue for Pro Mujer. The organization has strengthened its commitment to this focus over the last few months as it has worked to create a module available via Emprende Pro Mujer, the Pro Mujer entrepreneurial training platform, specifically designed for women entrepreneurs who have left their country of origin.
Pro Mujer brought together a group of experts to discuss potential approaches and solutions as part of its focus on this phenomenon. “Entrepreneurship Without Borders: Migration and Opportunities in the Impact Investing Ecosystem” was moderated by Felipe Orjuela, Economic Inclusion Specialist at USAID Colombia, and featured Carmen Correa, CEO of Pro Mujer; Santiago Alvarez, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ALIVE Ventures; Anabella Laya, CEO of Acreditta; and Masayo García, Government Engagement Director at Mastercard.
Felipe Orjuela began the session by highlighting that around 73% of women-led ventures do not have access to financing: “In a region with such a high number of migrants, and where women stand out for their entrepreneurial drive, it is essential to reflect on the opportunities that get lost in this financing gap.”
Panelists highlighted just some of the barriers faced by migrant women entrepreneurs, including a limited ability to build and grow support networks, regulatory obstacles, and the unconscious gender biases that continue to permeate the financial ecosystem.
Anabelle Laya, a Venezuelan woman migrant in STEM, a male-dominated industry where the ratio of men to women is three to one ratio, shared a first-person account of the challenges she’s faced.
“When we migrate, we have to create networks from scratch,” she said. “And this is both an enormous challenge and an incredible opportunity because these contacts can become new partners and opportunities that give us strength to face new challenges, for example, understanding local regulations or sharing available funding opportunities.”
Carmen Correa and Masayo García shared their experience developing innovative and socially responsible strategies to reduce the financing gap that excludes female entrepreneurs.
Masayo García called out the importance of recognizing gender biases at the individual and systemic levels: “Financial entities and institutions, angels, investors, venture capital…unfortunately, they are all still impacted by significant gender biases.”
She also shared data showing that women continue to be underrepresented in the investment sector, which contributes to the persistence of gender gaps and biases when it comes to designing products or allocating capital: “When we look at the global numbers of women who are investing decision-makers in venture capital, the number is below 10%. This is unacceptable. We must ensure that women are involved across all areas and all levels, from creating measurement tools to allocating funds and creating products.”
Carmen Correa, CEO of Pro Mujer, stressed the importance of approaching the migration phenomenon from a holistic, comprehensive, and intersectional perspective to engage with and address the multiple forms of violence and inequality that limit the full development of migrant women entrepreneurs.
“We must remember how other demographic characteristics impact women’s access to financing. What are the specific challenges facing migrant women, rural women, Indigenous women?” she reflected. We need to create specific solutions for these realities and provide comprehensive, holistic support to these women to ensure the development and well-being of each woman across all areas of her life.”
Santiago Álvarez, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ALIVE Ventures, emphasized the importance of incorporating a diversity lens in all areas of business operations, especially along the production chain and decision-making spaces.
“It is critical to increase female representation in decision-making spaces, and not just to meet quotas. Increasing women’s presence in these spaces improves opportunities and undoubtedly boosts impact, as women tend to invest in women,” he said. “In terms of the specific benefits for companies, diversity helps us identify new risks and opportunities that we wouldn’t have identified otherwise.”
In closing, the panelists called for incorporating diversity, gender, and inclusion perspectives across all areas of operations. Carmen Correa wrapped up the session by inviting attendees to avoid looking at gender lens investing as something niche and instead to always apply a gender lens as a guiding principle in decision-making.
“We need more financial inclusion products, more platforms, more cases, and more cooperation between organizations,” she stated. “And, of course, we need to conduct an appropriate investment analysis while always staying aware of our biases.”
