50 enterprises led by women in Valle de Aburrá will receive a boost to grow within the framework of the Emprender Mujer program

• In its first phase, the program received 253 applications from entrepreneurs in the city, of which 114 were interviewed and 50 were chosen to receive support and take advantage of the benefits of this community of entrepreneurs.
• 42% of the selected proposals correspond to small businesses, with a majority presence in the textile-fashion sector.
• Emprender Mujer emerges as a response to the unemployment situation of the female population in Valle de Aburrá and seeks to grow by at least 20% the enterprises selected in its first phase.

With more than 250 nominated enterprises, the call phase for Emprender Mujer ended, which will support businesswomen from Medellín and Valle de Aburrá in the creation and promotion of sustainable business models. Grupo Argos, Proantioquia, Impact Hub Medellín, Bancolombia, Fundación Siemens and Comfama undertook the task of reviewing and studying each company to select 50 that began to receive support since last April 29th.

During this process, which will last for eight months, the entrepreneurs will receive mentoring from other leading women in the business world, will participate in leadership training and will have access to financing and impact opportunities in view of the Sustainable Development Goals, (SDG). In addition, they will receive benefits in kind of up to COP 150 million.

The enterprises were selected taking into account innovation criteria, market potential, product or service, equipment and the contribution or impact on the achievement of the SDG. Of the selected organizations, 10 are medium-sized, 19 are small, and 21 are micro businesses in Valle de Aburrá and Antioquia.

The participation of enterprises from all the municipalities of Valle de Aburrá stands out, representing various sectors of the economy such as textiles-fashion, food, services, consulting, agriculture, among others, which ratifies the commitment of women entrepreneurs to the closure of gender gaps in masculinized industries and that their ventures contribute to the economic development of the city and the region.
“What most caught my attention about the program is that it seeks to strengthen business leadership in the women of Medellín, which I think will be a super powerful tool to strengthen my entrepreneurship with new perspectives.”

Manuela Granados, Noi Coworking.

“Having been selected for Emprender Mujer means a lot because three years ago I started this enterprise, I dream of reaching many more moms, being able to employ them, being able to make my brand known and I know that this program will help me learn and grow to reach the next level ”.

Andrea Vazart, Vazart.
As an additional value, the participants who were not selected will have access to training to deepen their knowledge of business models, market segmentation and sales, in addition to receiving support from Bancolombia so that they have knowledge of financing tools for their enterprises.