Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices, speaks to a group of women entrepreneurs

Over the last day and a half, a group of women entrepreneurs, all of whom lead businesses that are ready to export to the United States, have gathered in Miami, FL to network, attend capacity-building sessions, and speak with potential buyers for their products. The program marks the beginning of a new partnership between Vital Voices and FedEx. Titled Building Businesses Across Borders: A Training Program for Women Entrepreneurs, the program invited trade-ready women entrepreneurs from across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to participate in a two-day training seminar and become part of the Vital Voices global women’s network.

While the program opened with a cocktail reception on Monday, it began in earnest on Tuesday. Following introductions, participants heard from Gina Adams, Corporate Vice President of Government Affairs at FedEx, who spoke about her progression up the corporate ladder and the unique challenges faced by women in business. The following sessions addressed negotiation techniques, procurement best practices, and the do’s and don’ts of approaching a company. The day ended with the mentoring session, done in partnership with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

For many participants, meeting with other women business owners, both from across the region and from Miami, represented a valuable opportunity to learn from others’ experiences and to gain insight into the different strategies that can be pursued when looking to export to the US. Without a doubt, all the women who attended have dynamic businesses and a vision for promoting their growth. Different countries present different challenges, and understanding each entrepreneur’s unique context will be key as we continue to support their efforts.

As we prepare to launch the LAC Businesswomen’s Network, we are reminded of the need for a platform on which women entrepreneurs from the region can connect with each other. The region is home to countries ranging from small island nations, such as The Bahamas and Haiti, to large, developed economies, such as Argentina and Brazil. Even within these sub-regions, however, domestic barriers, ranging from legal requirements to transportation costs, vary considerably. Because of this, information sharing will be an essential component of the network.

On Wednesday, the program continued with a session on leadership by Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson, whose presentation prompted participants to define leadership and identify their personal leadership qualities.

“All of you are here because you are emerging business leaders, but as you all look around the room, you are also all having a great impact on your society, which is truly what great leadership is about,” she said.

Her session was followed by a presentation by a representative from US Commercial Services. The day concluded with a trade fair where the entrepreneurs were able to speak with potential buyers of their products.

A pilot program, Building Businesses Across Borders showed the promise that trade fairs represent for women entrepreneurs with small- and medium-sized enterprises. In the coming years, we hope to replicate such programs in different countries from Latin America, making it local and more accessible to different women. Moving forward, as women’s entrepreneurship continues to gain ground as a viable development strategy in countries around the world, it is clear that there is a need to connect such emerging women business leaders, identify their most pressing necessities, and continue our work to support them.

Sandra Kasonso is a valued member of the Vital Voices network. We were first introduced to Sandra in 2007, when she attended Vital Voices of Africa: A Leadership Summit for Women and Girls, a summit hosted by Vital Voices in Cape Town, South Africa. Sandra most recently participated in a Vital Voices Women’s Artisan Product & Business Development Program training held in Nairobi, Kenya. The following is a blog post written by Sandra about her experience organizing a Global Women’s Mentoring Walk in Zambia.

My name is Sandra Ndona Kasonso. I first heard about Vital Voices from the American Center in Zambia when a staff member, Betty Nalungwe, nominated me to attend the leadership summit in Cape Town in 2007. The article I am writing is about the mentoring walk I organized with five friends in Zambia.

Vital Voices Network member Sandra Kasonso

I can’t remember when I first saw the mentoring walk email from Vital Voices requesting interested people to participate. I took an interest but wasn’t sure I could commit and so I ignored it. Months later I was telling Melysa Sperber, Vital Voices’ Global Grants Manager, about my girls club and how I wanted to help the girls achieve their dreams. I was looking for ideas when Melysa suggested the mentoring walk. I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get involved and requested more information, which Global Programs Assistant Nicole Hauspurg sent. After going through the mentoring walk tool kit and overview I thought it was a great idea and passed the overview to friends for comments and support.

I mainly had to fight my self-doubt. First, I asked myself where would I start? Did I have what it took to lead this? So I hung back.

Continue Reading »

On November 21, the 2009 Global Women’s Mentoring Walk took place in six countries across the globe, convening established women leaders and rising professionals in an effort to foster the leadership potential of the next generation of aspiring women leaders. Organized locally by Vital Voices alumnae of the FORTUNE/US State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership, the first walk to be held in Egypt was carried out with great success. Participant and organizer Noha Khattab, senior vice president at a regional private equity firm, writes on her experience and the mentoring walk in the post below.

Fellow FORTUNE/US State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership alumnae Ghada Darwish, Nermeen Nosseir and myself are proud to report the success of Egypt’s first mentoring walk. Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Family and Population, and sponsored by ExxonMobil and Al Azhar Part, our walk had 120 participants from many disciplines including business, NGOs, media, advertizing, medicine, and education among others.

Before the walk, we had matched mentors with mentees; some mentors walked with only one mentee, while others walked with as many as three mentees. The event was kicked off when Ghada, Nermeen and I gave an overview of the idea of mentoring, and what the walk will be about. We spoke about how we were introduced to the idea of mentoring through the FORTUNE/State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Program, and how we hope that this walk, which is Egypt’s first, would be the first of many to come. We said that we want to work towards reaching out to more and more women, especially marginalized women.

Continue Reading »

In a recent article, FORTUNE Editor-at-Large and leading partner of the FORTUNE/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Patricia Sellers highlights the involvement of Oxygen Media Founder and former CEO Gerry Laybourne in the 2009 Global Women’s Mentoring Walk in Kampala, Uganda. The Mentoring Walk, coordinated by Vital Voices, is organized by Vital Voices leaders and alumnae of the FORTUNE/U.S. State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership, and emerged from a tradition initiated by Laybourne. A series of community based events, the Global Women’s Mentoring Walks pair established and emerging women professionals to engage in mentoring partnerships in communities across the globe.

Sellers writes on Laybourne’s influence and on the significance of mentees who are paying it forward, inspiring those in their communities as they have been inspired by leaders like Laybourne. Sellers says of Laybourne after her experience:

“Turns out, [Laybourne] made it home from Uganda in time for Thanksgiving. She decided to give thanks this year, she says, for a world of smart, energetic, game-changing women.”

“Career advice on the move, globally” Patricia Sellers, FORTUNE

Rehmah Kasule, center, addresses the crowd in Kampala, Uganda.

On November 21, Uganda joined the other six countries around the world to participate in the Global Mentoring Walk 2009.

During the FORTUNE/US State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Program in May 2009 one lady at AXA Equitable asked me the three things that if I had that would have made my life better. This was indeed an “A-ha” moment for me… This is a question that had gone through my mind for years. My answer was: “If I had proper guidance, support networks and self belief, my journey would have been simpler and better.” Coming back home, mentoring other women has become my mission - to support and guide women in Uganda by starting Mentoring Clubs which will help girls in school, women in employment and women entrepreneurs to unleash their potential.

The major purpose of the Uganda mentoring walk was rooted in Augusto Lopez-Claros’ quote “It is indeed very likely that there is a strong and positive correlation between Africa’s economic growth and the unleashing of female talent”. My objectives were:

· To raise awareness about Mentoring as a key tool for personal development.

· To bring together women professionals and emerging women professionals in mentoring partnerships in order to create a network of role models.

· To illustrate women’s dedication to building leadership and spotlight the accomplishments of women in Uganda.

· To initiate a series of activities which will identify, guide and support young women “to lead a life of Choice not Chance” so that they make a positive transition into adulthood.

Continue Reading »

Vital Voices Global Partnership is thrilled to have been able to help coordinate the 2009 Global Women’s Mentoring Walk on Saturday, November 21, 2009, where women leaders across the globe walked to support the next generation of aspiring women professionals.

The 2009 walks built upon the success of the 2008 Inaugural Mentoring Walks held in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, and Serbia. This year, mentoring walks were held in 6 different countries across the globe including Argentina, Egypt, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia. Vital Voices had a staff presence at the walks in Argentina, Malawi and Uganda.

At the walk in Kampala, Uganda, Vital Voices Global Programs Manager Alyson Wise was accompanied by Geraldine Laybourne, Founder and former CEO of Oxygen Media. Ms. Laybourne’s yearly discussions with participants of the FORTUNE/US State Department Global Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership largely focus on her own efforts to empower young women professionals through mentoring walks in New York City and across the United States.

Continue Reading »

Gerry Laybourne joins other pariticipant of the 2009 Mentoring Walk in Uganda

This year on November 21, Vital Voices helped to organize Mentor’s Walks in 8 countries.

Can you imagine what this means to me? Mentor’s Walk started in NYC when I said to colleague, Andi Bernstein: “Hey, here’s an easy to do idea….let’s gather women (just a few hundred) in Central Park and get all our high placed women friends ( you know, Meryl Streep, Diane Von Furstenberg, Heidi Miller..etc) mentor younger women. Maybe we can get media coverage to show that women do help women.” Well, there was no “easy” in the effort, but we did do a dozen or so walks in cities all over the US and did get media coverage. It was fantastic to be a part of.

It sprang from my practice of walking with young women if they wanted advice…my trusty assistant Ed (sigh, I miss him) told anyone who wanted my mentoring that I didn’t need another meal or to interrupt my day, but I needed exercise….

When I began meeting with the 50 women selected by the FORTUNE/US State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership who come every year to NY, I told about our Mentors Walks. In 2007 a walk was held in Nepal..and now this year 8 are being held.

So here I am on November 21 in Uganda.

Read the full post at Gerry Laybourne’s blog

International women leaders of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network will coordinate the second annual Global Women’s Mentoring Walk on November 21, 2009. The 2009 Global Women’s Mentoring Walk will take place in communities throughout 6 different countries including:  Argentina, Egypt,  Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia.

Organized as a series of localized community events, the walks will convene established women leaders and rising women professionals to walk together in their communities and engage in discussions regarding their professional challenges and successes. Each walk event will seek to foster the leadership potential of aspiring women professionals for the benefit of local communities. Together, the coordinated walks in 2009 will reach several hundred women leaders and demonstrate the tremendous power of women’s leadership to promote positive change.

The idea for “mentoring walks” originated with Founder and Former CEO of Oxygen Media, Geraldine Laybourne, who developed these events across the United States and inspired alumnae of the FORTUNE/US State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership to do the same in their home communities.

The first mentoring walks were held in November 2008 and coordinated with support from Vital Voices. These walks were met with tremendous success and reached hundreds of women across Africa, Eurasia, the Middle East and Latin America. The 2009 mentoring walks promise to do the same, on an even larger scale.

In 2008, entrepreneur Taniesha Burke of Jamaica participated in the Vital Voices of the Americas: Women as a Bridge to a More Prosperous Future Summit, where she met leadership expert and Vital Voices Board Member Dr. Karen Otazo Hofmeister. The two women have since formed a mentoring relationship and recently took part in a leadership forum organized by Ms. Burke in Kingston. In the article below, the women share their experience and the story of their mentor and mentee bond.

‘The Vital Voices Global Partnership Connection from Buenos Aires to Kingston’

Vital Voices Global Partnership’s mandate of identifying, training and empowering emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world for all through the provision of the capacity, connections, and credibility they need to unlock their leadership potential has reached the beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica. Vital Voices’ commitment to networking and mentoring in particular were among many of its core areas of focus during the Caribbean and Latin American Summit in Buenos Aires in October 2008.

During this fantastic, bonding experience Dr. Karen Otazo Hofmeister, leadership expert and a committed Vital Voices facilitator from Houston, Texas, and Taniesha Burke, an enthusiastic entrepreneur from Kingston, Jamaica met. The networking between the two developed and matured into a mentoring relationship which led to the publication of Taniesha’s first book: Raising the Next Barack Obama: A Guide in How to Develop Core Principles for Success in Your Child.

Continue Reading »

Executive Coach Dr. Karen Otazo-Hofmeister is a facilitator and mentor of Vital Voices and a global leadership expert.

She is the author of two books, ”The Truth About Managing Your Career … And Nothing But”, which includes 60 tips about surviving in business and “The Truth About Being A Leader … And Nothing But”.

In her second book, she includes recommendations ranging from stress management to networking.

Read the full story here.