Spurring Growth, Innovation, and Leadership in Mexico:

Empowering Women-led Businesses

On May 21, 2020, Women Forward International and the Aspen Institute Mexico present a Virtual Forum with students from Harvard and Columbia Universities accompanied by leading experts and entrepreneurs

WHO:

Hear the voices of Mexican women entrepreneurs and see how they are changing the health and well-being of their country. Students from Columbia University School of International and Public Policy and Harvard Kennedy School will join with the Pro Mujer non-profit development organization and The Ananda Group private fund manager to present their research and recommendations on successful efforts to empower women-run businesses in Mexico:

• The Columbia Students Presentation will focus on “Bridging the Gap between Women Entrepreneurs and Investors in Mexico”
• The Harvard University Students will present “Seeds of Growth: Supporting Plant-Based Entrepreneurship in Mexico”

Learn from leading experts on Latin America business as well as economic and social equality

After the presentations, Dr. Kent Davis-Packard, President & Executive Director Women Forward International, will moderate a panel of experts who will share their response to the student research findings and their recommendations for long-term impact:

• Lina Dolores Pohl Alfaro, Representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Mexico
• Rocio Cavazos, Founder and Managing Partner, The Ananda
• Gabriela Lucas Deecke, Co-Founder and General Director, CIASPE Mexico
• Monica Ducoing, Central America and Mexico Regional Chapter Manager of Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)
• Diana Popa, Co-Founder and CEO, Extensio
• Paola Rebollar, Owner, Zahini
• Roberto Salinas-Leon, Director, Center for Latin America, Atlas Network and President of the Mexico Business Forum
• Belen Sanz Luque, UN Women Representative from Mexico
• Natalia Wills, Country Representative Mexico, Pro Mujer

Introductory Remarks by Ambassador Enrique Berruga Filloy, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Mexico

The event will be supplemented by a special follow on arts presentation sent to those who attend. Vera Andre, an artist living in Puebla, Mexico, will share her aesthetic search for truth, people struggling to conquer their goals, and classical references to ancient cultures. Portraying two worlds, one earthy and the other distant and unattainable, she sees the gap between who we are today and where we aspire to be. https://okapigallery.com/artists/vera-andre/  

Wesley Spencer, Director of Arts Partnerships and Strategic Development, Women Forward International will introduce Andre.

WHEN: Thursday, May 21, 2020 10:00 a.m. to 12:00pm Mexico City CDMX; 11:00am to 1:00pm EST

WHERE: Click on This Link to register. You will be immediately entered into the program.

ABOUT WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL:

Women Forward International is a global platform for systemic change in international affairs education, reorienting research towards the principles of unity, collaboration, and service. We create unique partnerships that lead to behavioral changes that advance women to advance humanity. WFI partners with a range of private sector, academic and non-profit clients to identify research critical to human progress, and then pairs teams of graduate international studies students with these organizations to complete that research and implement solutions. WFI also uses the reflective power of Art to reveal and investigate the underlying cultural issues at stake in a given international relations issue and provide the next generation of leaders a more holistic approach to human relationships.

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