More than 54 hours of classes and support were given to the entrepreneurs who participated in the second edition of the Luksic Foundation’s Despega Mujer program, carried out together with the Simón de Cirene and Construyendo Mis Sueños corporations. In addition to training, the winning entrepreneurs received financing of $2 million pesos to invest in their businesses and acquire new machinery.
The Despega Mujer program was created in 2021 with the objective of empowering women who already have an excellent entrepreneurial profile, in order to promote the growth of their businesses through comprehensive support with a gender focus.
After six months of program development, the closing ceremony for this version of the program was held on Wednesday, April 6. “We have witnessed the great progress made by the winners and how they have strengthened their businesses, as well as their personal growth. These positive results give us more strength to continue supporting women entrepreneurs throughout the country,” said Alvaro Ipinza, general manager of the Luksic Foundation.
Program components
“We finished one of the most significant stages as entrepreneurs. This was a gift of transformation and personal growth. We have learned to lose our fear of obstacles and we were shown that the most valuable thing about our companies is ourselves, in addition to giving us the opportunity to meet great entrepreneurs and create new strategic alliances to strengthen our businesses,” said Ana María Rodríguez from the Biobío Region, who participated in this edition of the program.
Convinced that training and comprehensive support are key tools for empowering and providing knowledge for women entrepreneurs to strengthen their businesses, the program consists of four elements.
One is financing, where each entrepreneur received $2 million pesos; online classes, eight modules in total; personalized mentoring, where a business expert supports and guides the winner in making decisions and improving business management; and finally, learning circles, which are spaces for conversation so that entrepreneurs can share experiences, both professional and personal, and form support and contact networks.
Amparito Canales, who participated as a mentor in the second version of Despega Mujer, explained that “being a mentor does not only mean sharing one’s own experience, it is a work of unity. The mentor and the entrepreneur share enriching experiences full of learning for both. The emotional support we provide to the entrepreneurs is also fundamental for their professional and personal development.
Despega Mujer
At the end of the second edition, Despega Mujer already has 70 women entrepreneurs from the regions of Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Biobío, Los Lagos and Metropolitan Chile, who have received support from the program to promote the growth of their businesses.
The entrepreneurs are invited to participate by entities that provide microfinancing, such as Fondo Esperanza and Banigualdad.
This year, with the commitment to continue working to close the gender equity gap in entrepreneurship, we are working on the third edition of the program.
