News

40 Costa Rican businesswomen will receive scholarships for the LEADS ACADEMY FOR WOMEN 2023 program through an alliance between Coope Ande and INCAE

17 October 2022
Gabriela Flores Villalobos

  • Academic-cooperative alliance will finance 80% of the program for selected small and medium-sized business participants

  • Opening of online applications ends on December 12, 2022

The Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership (CELIS) ​​of INCAE Business School and Coope Ande announce the launch of LEADS ACADEMY FOR WOMEN 2023, a project that they promote with the objective of supporting 40 Costa Rican businesswomen to acquire tools and knowledge to perfect their strategy and grow their businesses.

The alliance will award 40 scholarships of 80% to a selected group of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) entrepreneurs, to be part of a rigorous, multi-phase development program that includes training, mentoring to develop a robust business plan, personalized follow-up for 3 months after the end of the plan to measure the success of your application and regional networking.

Coope Ande is committed to the development of the SME sector in Costa Rica. Recognizing the current challenges of the business sector, we allied ourselves with INCAE in this initiative, offering 80% scholarships and a business support plan later from our cooperative with each of the businesswomen to promote them," said Luis Diego Zamora, Manager of Commercial Services of the cooperative.

Entrepreneurs who wish to apply to the program must meet the following requirements:

  • Lead a company formally registered in Costa Rica.
  • Have a minimum of 2 years of operation. 
  • Have a minimum of a bachelor's degree.
  • Internet and computer access.
  • Annual sales greater than 65.000.000 colones.
  • Have at least 2 employees on payroll or subcontracted.
  • Have the necessary funds to cover 20% of the program (equivalent to $3.000).
  • Leader of a company with complete freedom to implement recommended improvements in the program.
  • Be committed to investing time and effort to advance your business. 

How to apply?

Interested parties who meet the business parameters can apply from October 12 to December 12, by completing the registration form on the official website: https://www.incae.edu/es/coope-ande/postulacion.html 

After the online application, the candidates will receive an email confirming receipt of their information and if they meet the requirements they will be evaluated by a Selection Committee. The 40 selected businesswomen will be notified by phone or email before January 10, 2023. 

Thanks to the LEADS program (Lead, Undertake, Advance, Develop, Sustain), the female entrepreneurs who graduated from previous editions have improved their business strategy design and operationalization skills to accelerate growth through internationalization and innovation in their products and services. An example of the impact of the program is the 239 new jobs created by our graduates from the three previous editions. Likewise, 70% of them increased their sales to new markets and 8 companies scaled through exports”, said Camelia Ilie-Cardoza, Dean of Executive Education and Strategic Innovation at INCAE Business School and Chair of CELIS.

Economic impact.

LEADS Academy for Women is a multi-phase training program created in 2017 by CELIS of INCAE Business School and carried out thanks to alliances with companies such as MasterCard, Corporación Banco Industrial and in this edition with Coope Ande. 

To date, 160 women entrepreneurs from Central America have benefited, mainly influencing the growth in sales of their businesses, the increase in jobs and up to a 35% reduction in operating costs. 

Empowering women entrepreneurs and their businesses is enhancing the well-being of families and investing in the sustainability and future of our communities.