Partnership to provide help for female entrepreneurs

LEAMINGTON — On Monday, April 25, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre (SBEC), a division of Invest WindsorEssex (IWE), together with the Consulate of Mexico in Leamington, signed a letter of intent for a partnership to provide programing for women’s entrepreneurship in Windsor-Essex.

The partnership will provide a collaborative framework to address barriers faced by women of the region through advancement of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

This initiative has expanded from a pilot program that was launched in October 2021 by the Consulate of Mexico in Leamington. The organization started an entrepreneur program for Mexican women living in Windsor-Essex to provide them with the basics of starting and growing a business. The program is in collaboration with the Thunderbird School of Global Management at the University of Arizona and the Consulate of Mexico in Phoenix.

During this pilot, the women completed the DreamBuilder Course online to learn the foundation for starting a business. Topics included planning, marketing, pricing, management, setting goals and more.

Sabrina DeMarco (left), Executive Director of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, and Vanessa Calva Ruiz, Mexican Consul, hold up the freshly signed contracts forming the partnership for women entrepreneurs on Monday, April 25.

SUN photo

The Consulate provided support to both startups and growing businesses throughout the program and also provided mentors and professionals in all areas of expertise to help them develop their business plan.

Three graduates of the program have already started their own businesses.

The partnership with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre has expanded the pilot program to provide further resources, workshops, platforms and activities to promote women’s entrepreneurship in Windsor-Essex.

Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald was on hand to support the partnership and said that the municipality is pleased to play a small part.

“We have a very small part in this, but are so happy to support this great initiative,” she said.

“We are delighted to be formalizing our partnership with the Mexican Consulate in Leamington which will see us pooling our resources and networks together to better serve the Mexican community,” said Sabrina DeMarco, Executive Director, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre.

Mexican Consul Vanessa Calva Ruiz was equally excited about officially signing the partnership.

“The Government of Mexico welcomes the opportunity to join efforts with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre, a division of Invest Windsor-Essex, to develop and strengthen initiatives to support small business, especially women entrepreneurs in the region,” said Consul Calva Ruiz. “This collaboration allows us to combine resources to better serve the Mexican community that has made Windsor-Essex their home and place of business, contributing with the creation of jobs and opportunities.”