Meet the 40 Honduran Women winners of the EMPRO scholarship
September 30, 2022. After a long process of selection and evaluation of more than 200 registrations of Honduran women to participate in the Women Entrepreneurs Progressing Program (EMPRO), today we announce the 40 winners.
These 40 women with the desire to continue transforming their business were selected by an Evaluation Committee whose members carefully reviewed the merits of each of the applicants.
This Program was developed by INCAE Business School, under the Women's Business Growth initiative and has the financial support and accompaniment of the PriceSmart Foundation and Cargill. EMPRO aims to strengthen the business knowledge of women, through a series of training sessions that will contribute to the transformation and scaling of their businesses, also promoting access to new markets and financing.
“For INCAE, through its Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, it is an honor to contribute so that this select group of businesswomen can transform their businesses, generate more employment and prosperity for Honduras. In our institution, we have a commitment for women to overcome the challenges and biases that have traditionally limited their growth potential”, commented Octavio Martínez, Director of CLACDS/INCAE.
These are the winners and the name of the companies with which they participate:
The women entrepreneurs belong to the commercial, agricultural, food, services, technology, agribusiness, industrial, personal care and textile sectors, among which are mainly products such as footwear, jewelry, printing, bags, clothing, pastries, sauces and frozen products. These are, for the most part, handmade and innovative products, which could soon be on the international market.
"I was very proud to learn details of the projects with which the selected businesswomen will be participating in this Program and I am excited to think about EMPRO's contribution to the professional and business growth of my compatriots," said Gracia Barahona, Manager of EMPRO in Honduras.
This first stage of the EMPRO program culminates successfully with the selection of these 40 businesswomen, but this would not have been possible without the financial support of the PriceSmart Foundation and Cargill.
We also appreciate the collaboration during the recruitment phase of the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the Cortés Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Voces Vitales, Terra Te Impulsa, Tech4DevHN, Banco Ficohsa, LAFISE, BAC and MasterCard.
Important dates of the EMPRO Program
From October 3 to 16, the winning businesswomen will have access to pre-selected courses from the LEADS Mujer online program and their respective Innovation and Finance Bootcamps. It is an online course platform that was designed with the sponsorship of Mastercard, a company with which INCAE has joined forces to promote the talent, knowledge and growth of women entrepreneurs in various countries.
From October 17 to November 18, the businesswomen will begin with the first class sessions, resuming activities on January 3, 2023, until the end of the training around the second week of June 2023.
EMPRO was conceived to strengthen the knowledge and skills of women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and access both new markets and financing. Members of the INCAE Faculty will participate, as well as experienced mentors from national and international companies, as well as banks. The training culminates with a business conference where each participant puts into practice the knowledge acquired, presenting their businesses and products to potential distributors, retailers, and financial entities.
For more information you can contact Mauren Esquivel at the mail mauren.esquivel@incae.edu or with Gracia María Barahona, Manager of the EMPRO Honduras Program by email grace.barahona@clacds.incae.edu.