With the aim of strengthening the empowerment of women in digital commerce in the country, the Chamber of Digital Economy of Uruguay (CEDU) presented the first edition of the "Despegate" programme, in which ten entrepreneurs will be mentored by businesswomen from different sectors to obtain the best results in e-Commerce.
This initiative seeks to connect women-led SMEs with active sales through digital channels with mentors with experience in different areas of online business. It also offers networking and knowledge sharing opportunities for both mentees and mentors.
"While the digital commerce sector is fairly even and women have won our space, we know that there is much to be done in several areas in terms of gender equality and we want to collaborate in that sense," said Ivanna Rocha, manager of CEDU.
After the selection of the mentees from more than 50 applicants, entrepreneurs and businesswomen met for the first time through a virtual meeting, in which the mentees presented their businesses.
Some of them are starting up in the field of clothing and accessories, such as Merinos del Rey, a company dedicated to making garments with natural merino wool; Jardana, which produces women's clothing and handcrafted household items; Valería Fonsalía Leather Bags, which makes leather handbags and accessories for women; and Sol Tikuna, which designs and produces sustainable jewellery through handcrafted work.
Others are active in the gastronomic sector, such as Zona 058, a Venezuelan gastronomy venture with food trucks and its own premises; and Licores del Sur, which, based on the flora of the wild mountains, runs a family-run liquor business.
In sundries, Trotamundo focuses on design and production of travel backpacks, products for travellers and sports equipment; and Redondo Almacén sells handcrafted products such as children's toys and decoration.
The cosmetics sector is also present among those selected with Anele Norab, which produces creams, body splashes and massage oils based on plant extracts, while MyK Diseño y Remodelación represents the construction sector with the sale and installation of damp-proof plasterboards with its own designs.
In the presentation, they all agreed that the abrupt growth of digital commerce brought about by the pandemic created new challenges, as although they gained access to a new sales channel, they were confronted with a space where they had no knowledge.
Social networks, marketplaces and their own websites are the channels they want to exploit for the growth of their businesses, with the tools to perform at their best. In this sense, the mentors will be in charge of guiding them to optimise e-Commerce according to the field in which they operate.
The group of mentors is made up of Natalia Macri, director of Oferta Exportable and vice-president of CEDU; Beatriz Ponce de León, Chief Strategy Officer of Arbusta and CEDU board member; Natalia Borrazás, Head of Customer Care at MailUp; Lourdes Moro, commercial manager of Redelocker; Analía Ramírez, Marketing manager of Jetmar Viajes; Ana Laura Olmos, Communications and Marketing manager for Latin America at Evertec; María Maríael Laborde, co-founder of ViaSendo; Florencia Pan Arcelus, Marketing & e-Commerce manager of Mosca Hnos; Ana Laura Olmos, Communications and Marketing Manager for Latin America at Evertec; María Noel Laborde, co-founder of ViaSendo; Florencia Pan Arcelus, Marketing & e-Commerce Manager at Mosca Hnos; Lucía Artecona, Marketing Manager at Mercado Libre; Mónica Maltzman, Project Manager at Onetree; María Berdun, CMO at L'Oréal; and Cecilia Auliso, e-Commerce Manager at FORUS.
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