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Female Entrepreneurs Graduate
posted (June 2, 2022)

And in other news, twelve women graduated today from the Female Entrepreneurial Program. These graduates were small business owners who wanted to take their businesses to the next level. The program gave them training on innovation and entrepreneurship to develop and validate their business model.

Since this cohort only included women from the northern districts, the graduation ceremony was held in Orange Walk, and Courtney Menzies was there. Here is that story:

Twelve women got to be a part of the pomp and circumstance this graduation season after completing the third cohort of the "Female Entrepreneurship Program."

The program, which is a collaboration between Beltraide, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of Taiwan, sought to empower women who were already small business owners so that they would be able to better manage their respective businesses.

And the guest speaker, Prime Minister John Briceno, pointed out that women have always possessed entrepreneurial skills.

Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"Women run the most difficult business in the world, they run a home, the family, generally. So when we are talking to them about budgets, they understand budget, they know finance, they understand that if they have a $100, they have to make sure that $100 could last for the entire week until they get some more money. When you look at marketing, you all could get your children to eat food that's not really nice and you could convince them that they have to eat it because it'a good for them. Or they could convince a husband that, you aren't supposed to go out tonight, you all just say, "go if you want." And you know what that means, that you better stay home. The leadership skills that you have at home every single day, making sure that kids get up in the morning, making sure that the house is clean, that everything is in order, that requires a special skill. So really what Beltraide has been doing today, is just to formalize what you know. In fact, to let you realize that there is so much that you already know. And that basically you have the skills to run a successful business. You do it every single day."

David Kuan-Chou Chien - Taiwanese Ambassador
"As we know, women play a key role in our communities and they are the most important pillar to support our families and the society, however, women also suffer from gender violence, resource deficiency, economic inequality, and even domestic violence, especially during the period of pandemic COVID-19."

And one of today's graduates, owner of Yessi's Cuisine and Catering - who also has a brand new hot sauce on the market, explained that her latest product came about because she wasn't able to provide her usual service during COVID 19 - so she decided to create something that she could send out, while she stayed safe at home.

But even before COVID, she dreamed of being a part of Beltraide's training sessions.

Yesenia Guerra - Graduate
"I got started in Beltraide a few years ago, I used to be a catering business, I use to cater finger foods and foods for same Beltraide, for their seminars, I started catering their seminars, and I said once, to one of the advisors, I said, I don't just want to come here, deliver my food, I one day want to be in that class. The challenges I faced was time. I needed to find a balance between time for home, for work, and now to be in a class. I had to put my priorities first, what was my priority and for me, the training was the priority. I had to make sure everything was done and my days to be free for me to be in that class. I learnt to budget more, I learnt to prioritise what is should be taking care of first, and I believe with everything, I don't believe, I know, that with everything I learnt in that class and now I'm putting it into practice, that will be a big change for my future and for the future of my kids."

And while Guerra is a part of the "food and beverage" sector, other sectors involved in this training included agro-processing, creative industries, and health and wellness - and all 12 graduates were from the Orange Walk and Corozal Districts.

The graduates also attended customized workshops on legal frameworks for gender equality, women's human rights, personal and business goals and financial literacy.

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