Mexican women entrepreneurship program kicks off for a third year

The Mexicana Emprende Program has started at Mile One for the third year in a row as it encourages Mexican women living in Laredo to start their own business.

Through the program, 16 Mexican women will have the chance to learn and create their own business after taking a 10-week course dedicated to their education.

“This is a program offered to aspiring female entrepreneurs that want to start a business, that want to learn and understand the processes and requirements to launch a business in the US,” Mile One program director Cesar G. Hernandez said.

Hernandez spoke of the online courses the women would be taking throughout the program that would teach them the basics of business planning, marketing and other courses. There would also be workshops done in person at Mile One with mentors.

“So they can get a better idea of how to register a business, open a bank account, understand what it takes to develop a product and a business,” Hernandez said. “The mentoring and the workshops that we offer here would guide them through the process, and then, once that is complete, we’ll have a pitch day.” 

During pitch day, the 16 women will have to pitch their business idea or plan to a panel of judges who will later announce the third, second and first place winners. Funding will be granted to the winners so they may launch their respective businesses.

Hernandez said it is a 10-week program with six weeks dedicated to online courses and in-person sessions for four weeks.

This program is just a small portion of a bigger whole. The Consul General of Mexico in Laredo, Juan Carlos Mendoza Sanchez, explained the Consular Entrepreneurship Program of Mexican Women Abroad (PCEME) is a collaborative process. 

The Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME), in collaboration with Mexican Representations Abroad (RME), seeks to promote the development of programs and initiatives that benefit Mexican women who live abroad, specifically in economic growth and financial education. Mendoza Sanchez spoke of the four stages that take place.

“The first part is the online part, a part with Dreambuilder, NAFIN, the mentoring part with Natiocional Financiera,” Mendoza Sanchez said. “It’s an institution for finance in Mexico that is very important. The last part is with local advisors here in Laredo, and it is very important because the women will have all the training and global information through the University of Arizona, but it is important that they receive the advice from local entrepreneurs and experts.”

Mendoza Sanchez explained the last part being the business pitch because the women will also receive expert advice. 

“At the end of the day, this program is to provide women, to those who want to succeed in life, the tools, knowledge and information for how to start their small, or microbusiness, into the United States,” Mendoza Sanchez said. 

Mendoza Sanchez also explained the program has had 1,500 graduates so far in its fifth year, and this is the third time the program is offered in Laredo.