More than twenty outstanding women from the business, associative and public fields shared their knowledge at this virtual meeting, where they learned about the challenges regarding female Entrepreneurship
The Regional Ministry of Employment, Training and Self-Employment of the Andalusian Regional Government commemorated the International Day of Women Entrepreneurs on 19 November, by holding the First Forum ‘Women who change the world’. This was a digital meeting organized by Andalucía Emprende, an entity attached to the Regional Ministry of Employment and a partner of the IFEMPOWER project, which had the participation of 22 prominent women from the business, associative and public sectors, who shared their knowledge with the 639 participants (540 women and 99 men) and explained the challenges faced by women in the COVID era.
The session opened with a greeting from Juan M. Moreno Bonilla, President of the Andalusian Regional Government, who dedicated a very special message to all women entrepreneurs and wanted to express his support to them, convinced that they will overcome the obstacles that have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with the “talent and courage” that they have always shown. He was followed by the Regional Minister for Employment, Training and Self-Employment, Rocío Blanco, and the Regional Minister for Equality, Social Policies and Work-Life Balance, Rocío Ruiz, who were joined by the Director General of Self-Employment and Social Economy, Susana Romero; the Director General of the Digital Economy and Innovation, Loreto del Valle; the Director General of the Andalusian Women’s Institute, Laura Fernández; the President of the Andalusian Union of Professionals and Self-employed Workers (UPTA), Inés Mazuela; the President of the Andalusian Federation of Businesswomen (FAME), Ana Alonso; the Secretary General of the Association of Cooperative Businesswomen of Andalusia (AMECOOP), Elena Aznar and the Director of Andalucía Emprende, Rosa Siles. Other participants in the conference included well-known entrepreneurs, such as Valle López-Quesada, Director of Business Development at Womenalia; Rosa León, a Sevillian businesswoman who is an expert in leadership; Macarena González, co-founder of the ‘StartupLabsSpain’ accelerator and member of ‘Founders Andalucía’; Teresa Alarco, President of the ‘W Startup Community’ Association and founder of ‘Woman Forward’; and Marisa C. de Azcárate, president of Kaizen Hoteles, among others, who formed part of the three round tables that took place during the conference, which were moderated by the journalists and communication experts, Maria José Andrade, Rosa Jiménez and Marta Paneque.
The initiative, which was broadcast live through the Andalucía Emprende channel on YouTube, aimed to make women’s talent visible in these uncertain times and their contribution to the development of the Andalusian productive fabric, cementing a more egalitarian, innovative and sustainable society. The thematic content addressed the importance of female leadership for change and the presence of women in decision-making bodies; social innovation and the collaborative economy as new ways of creating employment; and the challenges for associations in times of COVID.
Rosa Siles, Manager of Andalucía Emprende, presented the results of the international study “COVID-19 and Female entrepreneurs throughout Europe”, which was carried out by the HETFA Research Institute from Hungary – the leading partner in the European IFEMPOWER project- with the collaboration of Andalucía Emprende, to better understand the situation of female entrepreneurs during the coronavirus pandemic in seven European countries.
The meeting concluded with some reflections on the challenges of female entrepreneurship and the roadmap for female entrepreneurs in this new scenario that was caused by COVID-19.
The recording of the event is available here: https://bit.ly/3fbsh2W
Programme at: https://bit.ly/3f8u0WL
