Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Lessons From Global Leaders
By Lauren Chance ’25, Associate & Liaison
Insights from the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)
I recently had the honor of meeting an inspiring group of female entrepreneurs from countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, and India as part of the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire’s International Visitor Leadership Program. These female founders come from various backgrounds and industries, all of whom shared insight on how they’ve navigated the challenging world of business in their respective countries while facing significant economic and societal challenges.
The advice these women gave resonated with me greatly, especially in the context of how women’s entrepreneurship can thrive in less developed or privileged countries. From learning to embrace failure to surrounding oneself with the right community, the lessons taught provided valuable perspectives regarding how women in developing regions can build successful businesses. I chose to dive deeper and intertwine these lessons with key themes such as the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), grassroots movements, and overcoming societal barriers. From this, it can be shown that female entrepreneurs worldwide are empowered to create their own unique successful business, even in difficult circumstances.
The Role of NGOs and Grassroots Organizations
In many of the countries these women came from, raising capital for their business is very difficult as resources tend to be quite limited. This is where non-governmental organizations and grassroots movements become important. According to the Worldwide NGO Directory, there are over 54,000 organizations in all entities of business in more than 190 countries. These encompass local, state, national, or international organizations that help advocate for change and provide support to enable women to start their businesses.
One impactful message mentioned during the IVLP discussion was to “surround yourself with people who understand”. This advice truly highlights the importance of creating community and mentorship opportunities for women on their entrepreneurial journeys. NGOs provide benefits by fostering a network of constant support by allowing aspiring female entrepreneurs to gain hands-on experience, growing both their personal and professional backgrounds. Additionally, within less fortunate countries, these organizations guide women to start businesses defined by their values. “When a company is based on your own values, you have no competition.” This insight hit home the most for me, noting that a company reflects its founders’ values, offering a unique advantage within the competitive market. NGOs make an impact by offering training and resources, empowering female entrepreneurs for long-term success.
Overcoming Societal Barriers
Female entrepreneurs often face societal barriers, which can in some cases make starting a business seem impossible. Gender segregation, legal restrictions, and little-to-no access to education and funding are the most common obstacles. However, the IVLP visitors provided and shared an impactful mission motivated by flexibility and adaptability to overcome these challenges. According to CNBC, for women entrepreneurs who have a startup, 20% of businesses fail within the first year and 50% do not survive past five years. However, if there’s anything these inspiring women stressed the most, it is that failure is okay. Failure allows one to grow and learn along the way and is inevitable in a personal or professional setting. The mentality of knowing that it is okay to fail shows that an entrepreneur must take risks and know that events don’t always go as planned. This pairs with the advice to keep things simple, noting that it’s key to take small yet impactful steps forward to lead to a successful business.
Conclusion: Empowering Women, Impactful Results
Having the opportunity to take part in the IVLP meeting emphasized that women entrepreneurs like me can and are succeeding, even in the most challenging of environments. Learning to leverage support within the community through NGOs and grassroots movements, focusing on a business primarily driven by personal values, and overcoming societal barriers is set to generate an impactful future through the lens of entrepreneurship. Additionally, adding to this powerful insight, empowering female entrepreneurship not only promotes individual success but also drives the transformation of the economy as a whole. The lessons I’ve learned from these global leaders are a great reminder for myself and others that entrepreneurship has a dynamic touch on the transformation of individuals, the community, and the world.
Lauren is a senior from Brookfield, New Hampshire, pursuing a business administration degree with a concentration in finance and entrepreneurial studies. Over the past summer, Lauren delved into finance as an intern at Aptiv in Boston, MA. Throughout her internship, she specialized in budgeting and forecast analysis while managing and executing multiple projects. On campus, Lauren is part of the Paul Scholars Program, an Ecenter Ambassador, and Secretary of the Entrepreneurship Club. This is her third semester involved in the Fund, where she looks forward to collaborating with fellow driven peers.
