Setting a digital impulse for female entrepreneurs through bootcamps

In the southeast of Mexico, women face a series of challenges: the poverty rate of the area lies with 60 up to 80 percent, way above the national rate of 40 percent. Even within their communities, they are disadvantaged: In 2022, the gender pay gap between Mexican women and men was 16 percent. In addition to that, over 70 percent of women owned small and medium sized enterprises have limited or no access to financial services. To catch up on these deep social, economic, educational and equality lags, the program “Impulso digital” (engl. “Digital impulse”) addresses women with digital barriers and regions that commonly lack access to digital literacy. The programme was planned for women aged between 15 and 65, in the end 32 percent of participants were aged between 36 and 45.

Solution

To develop and strengthen key technical and soft skills to improve the digital transformation processes of women micro-entrepreneurs, nine bootcamps were organised in the southeast of Mexico. The acquired skills open new opportunities for the participants to diversify their business strategy. By incorporating digital tools, they can improve their sales, income, and livelihoods.

The content of the bootcamps and the methodology is fully scalable and adaptable to similar contexts. The challenges and opportunities of female entrepreneurship ecosystem, identified in the Mexican southeast are comparable in the region and around the world.

Partners for solution design

The nonprofit organization Pro Mujer is a leading mission-driven social enterprise. Pro Mujer focuses on financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and health with a woman-centeredcentred approach in its programs.

From women micro-enterprise leaders to partner organisation’s staff – over 350 people participated in the nine bootcamps, which were concluded with a final summit, where experiences and good practices were exchanged.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Mexican Federal Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Transport (SICT) and partners from the private sector such as Microsoft and Siemens.

Stakeholders

The target group included women of the “smart villages” (aldeas inteligentes), a digital inclusion project of the Mexican Federal Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Transport (SICT). The objective of the “smart villages” project is to boost the meaningful connectivity for example through digital literacy training and creating hub spots of internet. The hub spots are provided with satellite internet and are community centers with computers and training facilities. In this way, the smart villages aim towards the community’s transformation using digital solutions for local development, specifically projects lead by women.

Beside the SICT the Digital Transformation Center (DTC) Mexico worked closely with subnational Economic Development Ministries, private sector and other multipliers on the ground, who supported in reaching beneficiaries in vulnerable locations.

Recommendations for implementation

• Seek synergies and allies
• Design a communication plan
• Share content and useful information
• Create the conditions (e.g. child-friendly spaces)
• Build a community