This text is part of the special International Cooperation section
An exchange of knowledge, from entrepreneur to entrepreneur. This is what differentiates the new international mentoring program from the Center for International Study and Cooperation (CECI) from more traditional volunteer experiences: reciprocity rather than one way.
“We wanted it to be an international solidarity program focused on reciprocity, but above all on strengthening the economic power of women, through a space of sisterhood,” explains Éléonore Durocher-Bergeron, project manager, strengthening the economic power of women. women, strategy and development at CECI, an international cooperation organization based in Montreal.
“The literature widely documents it: whether here or internationally, when you put women entrepreneurs together, they automatically rise,” she adds.
The new Solidarity Women Entrepreneurs program, which will be officially launched by CECI on February 7, aims to pair local entrepreneurs with sisters in Latin America or West Africa. The organization held a pilot project during the fall, which proved to be a success, rejoices Éléonore Durocher-Bergeron.
Last November, three Quebec entrepreneurs flew to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to exchange with local entrepreneurs with whom they had been matched. The businesswomen had previously held virtual meetings for a few weeks. Christine Latendresse, marketing strategy consultant, was one of these three entrepreneurs. “As much as I arrived with my background of 15 years of experience in marketing strategy, I respected the fact that the entrepreneurs were experts in their own business and their culture,” explains the woman who is at the head of the small business. Latendresse Marketing.
For three weeks there, Mme Latendresse spoke with four entrepreneurs. One of them had set up a matching platform between cleaners who were looking for work and households who were looking to hire them. The marketing strategy specialist worked, in collaboration with the women leading the project, to define their target audience.
“It was a really great experience,” she says. The person who had this idea had a sort of enlightenment: she suddenly understood that the role of her company was to help other women find work and strengthen their economic capabilities. And I saw the impact on the entrepreneur as much as on her company and the other women who worked with her… It’s a beautiful domino effect! »
What destabilized her the most in her journey? Paradoxically, it is precisely the fact of not having been too destabilized. Mme Latendresse had already had a mentoring experience in Peru a few years ago. She loved her experience, but remembered the shock she felt when many women couldn’t read. But this time, the experience is completely different. “I had the same exchanges that I would have had with clients here in Quebec, the same discussions. We are experiencing the same problems, ultimately. And we come back here with all that… It’s rich! »
The entrepreneur also affirms that this experience consolidated her desire to carry out international marketing strategy mandates. “It allowed me to validate the fact that I could be an international consultant, and that marketing, ultimately, is about adapting to your market and your target audience. And it allowed me to confirm that I was capable of doing it in Spanish. I’m not perfectly trilingual, but I was good enough to get by! » she says, laughing.
Christine Latendresse believes she has helped her Bolivian colleagues to structure themselves and acquire a better prioritization of the tasks to be accomplished in the short, medium and long term. “And for me, it forced me to be more open, more attentive and adaptable. »
Next stop: Senegal
After the success of its pilot project (the Bolivian organizations involved immediately asked when the next edition would be held, proudly announces Éléonore Durocher-Bergeron), CECI is currently working on setting up a second cohort of the program, which will pair this time entrepreneurs from here and Senegal.
The project manager explains that she and her team have already targeted Senegalese female entrepreneurs and are now looking for Canadian businesswomen working in the technology, fruit juice industrialization and cereal processing sectors, notably . The program will last five to six months, with a stay in Senegal for a few weeks in the spring.
Everyone’s (and everyone’s) business
Christine Latendresse and the two other entrepreneurs who participated in the pilot project in Bolivia will share their experience during a round table on February 7, organized jointly by CECI and the Young Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Quebec. Éléonore Durocher-Bergeron hopes that these testimonies will inspire other local entrepreneurs to embark on the adventure.
“International solidarity is not just a government or individual citizen responsibility: the private sector also has its role to play. This program aims to raise awareness among the business sector in Quebec and Canada,” she argues.
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This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.