Aspire Activate Accelerate

Strengthening Women Entrepreneurs in Value Chains

How We Do It

This endeavor, called WE3A, takes its name from the three pillars of collaboration it’s built upon—Women Entrepreneurs who Aspire, Activate and Accelerate. The project will provide participants in six Latin American countries with world-class training and access to resources, networks and development opportunities.

The project focuses on providing women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the tools they need to access value chains and support networks. WE3A will facilitate world-class training, access to the value chain, resources, networks, and growth opportunities for participants.

WE3A empowers women who own small and medium-sized enterprises in Latin America to grow their businesses through educational resources while connecting them with an expansive network of providers and like-minded women entrepreneurs.

Our three-tiered approach allows us to help business women at any phase of development grow their skills in leadership, operations, strategic planning, finance, and more.

icon-aspire-normal

Aspire

In this phase, we will address biases and roadblocks that these women face and discuss how to create the environment that allows them to succeed.
  • Creating the enabling environment for women entrepreneurs in nascent ecosystems.
  • Strengthening the business case for investment in women owned businesses
icon-activate-hover

Activate

During this phase, women will be given access to webinars and workshops designed to help them build business skills, resiliency and digital expertise.
  • Building the capacity of early-stage small and medium women owned businesses to better access value chains
  • Providing access to training, mentoring, business tools and networks
  • Access to DreamBuilder, a free online business training and certification program Sponsored by Freeport-McMoRan
icon-accelerate-normal

Accelerate

This phase is designed for businesses and enterprises that are more established. Here, women will receive advanced education and build a network of important people from the business ecosystem and potential customers.
  • Integrating WSMEs into corporate value chains through an accelerator program that includes training, resources and networking.
  • Supporting WSMEs with high-growth potential to succeed as regional and international businesses
who-we-are

Who We Are

WE3A is a collaborative initiative of the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Lab, with key financial support from WeFi (Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative). Our goal is to help women overcome obstacles caused by their newly developing financial ecosystems with uncertainty surrounding technology, competition, demands, and more.

Over the next three years, Thunderbird School of Global Management, with partners WEConnect International, will create and manage the innovative initiative to strengthen women entrepreneurs in all business phases. WE3A will work with women in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, and Honduras, with support from key local partner organizations, to catalyze leadership in local value chains, certify women-owned businesses, and enable access to finance through capacity building opportunities.

Interested in learning more about how WE3A operates?

Participant Countries

WE3A is currently active in 6 countries to provide new opportunities for women in Latin America.

Get Started

Want to join our community of women entrepreneurs?