Banco Industrial and INCAE successfully complete phase 3 of the LEADS Academy For Women Program

• The participants of the LEADS Academy For Women Program presented their individual projects before a jury, where they put into practice all the learning received.
• Four businesswomen from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala received recognition for their acceleration projects.
• The presentations took place at a high-level event held at the Walter Kissling Campus of INCAE Business School, located in La Garita de Alajuela, Costa Rica.

(San Jose, April 1, 2022) The Walter Kissling Campus of INCAE Business School was dressed up on March 31, with the presence of the Central American businesswomen participating in LEADS Academy For Women, a large-scale academic program of the Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership of INCAE, sponsored by Industrial Bank.
An unprecedented event, full of mixed emotions for the culmination of one of the most revealing stages in the professional life of women entrepreneurs in the region, who after 6 months of high-level educational preparation, will be able to put their projects into practice and accelerate their undertakings in the final phase of this important program, through the personalized follow-up of mentors.
“At Banco Industrial we are very proud of the evolution shown by its participants. The role of women in the development of countries is vital and that is why we invested in this alliance with INCAE, where we tangibly promote the leadership and empowerment of women entrepreneurs in the region”, shared Luis Lara, corporate director of Industrial Bank. 

The LEADS Academy For Women program is a tailored educational platform with four vital phases for business improvement. In the first phase, the participants were able to strengthen their knowledge of business administration from a comprehensive perspective. Including strategy and central structure, relating it to each business unit in operations, finance, online and offline marketing, marketing and sales, as well as effectively structuring networking actions. 

In phase two, the scholarship recipients received personalized tutoring and follow-up for the construction of their individual acceleration projects. These proposals were presented in phase three before a panel of potential investors and executives from Corporación BI.

Each businesswoman had 3 minutes to perform an Acceleration Pitch before the jury, who validated the skills developed by each one, highlighting the substantial value of each proposal, thus recognizing four outstanding projects.

• Ingrid Soza from Nicaragua, owner of the company Manos Nicas
• Mariola Urgellés from Costa Rica, owner of the company Sunspectra
• Beatriz Pozo representative of Honduras, owner of the company Xunam Kab and
• María Andreé Abadía Guatemalan businesswoman owner of Moonrise Vegan Food

The panel of judges was made up of Fabricio Mengarelli from Kellun, Melissa Guevara from Carao Ventures, José Zamora from Invermaster, Luis Mastroeni from Dos Pinos, Luisafernanda Urcuyo and María José Paiz, representatives of Banco Industrial, who enriched the projects of the participants with their experience. .

“At INCAE we are very satisfied with the progress achieved, we are convinced that the knowledge and tools that they carry today will mark a before and after in the increase in their sales, generation of new jobs and the search for sustainable development for our region, through the acceleration of their companies,” said Camelia Ilie, Dean of Executive Education and Strategic Innovation, Full Professor and Chair of INCAE's Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership. 

The program reaches its last phase, where for 6 months the scholarship recipients will receive personalized monitoring by expert mentors, who will support them in developing a clearer vision of the future of their company and growth and internationalization strategies for them.

"At Banco Industrial we hope to continue advancing together always forward, at this stage the businesswomen will be able to make their projects a reality, making adjustments and accurate measurements supported by the experts", concluded Lara.