Women's Day is not just another symbolic date.
This date is an active reminder of the struggle of women all over the world for their emancipation and equal rights in social, sexual and labour terms, in which the hegemony of men has been widely challenged by women who, giving free rein to their entrepreneurial side, end up achieving the success that many think is only destined for men.
What is female entrepreneurship?
Female entrepreneurship involves all social, environmental and business initiatives carried out by women. From self-employed professionals and start-up creators to leaders of large companies, female entrepreneurship takes different forms, but they all end up being beneficial to the economy and society as a whole.
With the inclusion of women in business, organisations are becoming more diverse, inclusive and innovative.
Realising the importance of female entrepreneurship, REDUNIQ, the brand UNICRE - financial credit institutionnot only supports these businesses through the development of means of online payments (REDUNIQ E-Commerce e REDUNIQ@Payments) and face-to-face payment methods (Contactless PIN The latest generation of technology) that helps women's digital entrepreneurship, and now presents a series of programmes to support women's entrepreneurship in Portugal.
Support for Female Entrepreneurship in Portugal
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FAME Programme
Created by Institute for the Promotion and Development of Entrepreneurship in Portugal (IFDEP), the FAME Programme to support female entrepreneurship aims to help women enter the labour market by setting up their own businesses.
The first step in this programme is training, where the entrepreneurs learn the fundamental management concepts for building a business. After the training, the participants enter the phase of consolidating their business plan and implementing it. If they complete their training successfully and their business plan is approved by IFDEP, FAME will provide them with financial support.
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AMEP
In addition to the FAME Programme, Portuguese women entrepreneurs can count on the help of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Portugal (AMEP), which aims, through studies, conferences, seminars, protocols signed with business associations, protocols signed with banks and legal support offices and business projects, to help reduce all the inequalities that affect Portuguese businesswomen as women and entrepreneurs.
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MINA Project
Under the premise of supporting female entrepreneurship, the Porto branch of the Red Cross has set up the MINA project, an acronym for "Women and Ideas, Business in Action".
Born with the aim of creatively and effectively minimising the employment gap for women in the municipality of Porto through entrepreneurship, MINA allows unemployed women to start an entrepreneurial, income-generating and autonomous activity that aims to create a new culture of equal opportunities and sustainable development.
The Mina project has four phases:
- Business training - 316 hours;
- Consultancy - 100 hours per company;
- Financial reward for start-ups;
- Creation of an inter-business network to support the companies created.
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WEgate
Created by the European Union, the WEgate is a platform where female entrepreneurs can find practical advice on how to set up and run a business. But that's not all.
In addition to all the materials needed to build your path as an entrepreneur, such as training, help in finding funding, contacts and information on support organisations across Europe, WEgate gives all female entrepreneurs access to data from the European Business Angels community, which will help them get funding for their projects.
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Women Winwin
As well as networking between female entrepreneurs, the community Women Winwin provides women with a space to share ideas and research new business opportunities, as well as a Business Mentoring programme, where a relationship is established between businessmen (women and men) and entrepreneurs at various stages of the development of their project or company.
Each participant in Women Winwin is entitled to a mentor (businessman or businesswoman) for one year, who will help implement the proposed business plan.
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Exchange - Activating Female Entrepreneurship
The project Exchange - Activating Female Entrepreneurshipcreated by the Platform for Entrepreneurship Education in Portugal (PEEP), aims to promote the inclusion of women, particularly unemployed women and immigrants; to create a network that fosters collaboration and sharing between women/technicians; to sensitise the different sectors to the definition of a national strategy for female entrepreneurship; and to train NGOs and public bodies to implement projects that promote entrepreneurship, gender equality and the fight against discrimination.
This mission is implemented through two approaches: empowering local organisations that work with women who are migrants and/or in situations of social exclusion, and sharing the stories of women entrepreneurs.
Female entrepreneurship: ideas and tips
If you're looking for ideas and tips on how to get started as an entrepreneur, you'll want to pay attention to 4th edition of "BORA Women"This event, organised in partnership by Coca-Cola Portugal and Impact Hub Lisbon, will take place from 11 to 13 March in digital format (there will be an in-person demo day at the end of July) and will focus on gender diversity and inclusion in the job market, in the world of Portuguese entrepreneurship, and in social impact.
In addition to these topics, women who want to have a say in the world of Portuguese entrepreneurship will be able to take part in various conferences and workshops taught by experienced and recognised speakers on the transition from idea to strategy, the financing models available and registering your business. All topics will be dealt with from a perspective of empowerment, inclusion and diversity.
Registration, limited to 200 places, opened on 3 February. The programme is free and participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tips
- Whatever activity you want to dedicate yourself to, motivation is always the driving force behind the whole process. To become an entrepreneur, you have to ask yourself "what are the circumstances that make you want to change your life and start something of your own? What is your initial motivation? What is your entrepreneurial potential? Answering these questions is the first step towards finding the much-desired motivation that will make you a successful entrepreneur.
- Try to create a disruptive business, something that not only has a direct impact on your life and those around you, but also contributes to global well-being. This will ultimately give you the extra motivation to bring your female entrepreneurship project to fruition.
- After this stage, come up with an idea, analyse all the constraints (production, partnerships, marketing, etc.) and create your business model.
- Finally, attend training sessions, seek help from one of the organisations we've presented, listen to expert opinions and make the necessary changes to your project and business model so that Women's Day is every day.
Female entrepreneurship: Portugal 6th country with the best opportunities
Female entrepreneurship is important not only for those who decide to start a business, but also for the entire social and economic ecosystem that surrounds them, guaranteeing not only new market visions, but also the inspiration needed for more women to become financially independent.
Although there is still a lot to be done in terms of equal opportunities and salaries between men and women in our country, according to the Mastercard Index study for Female EntrepreneurshipPortugal is the sixth country in the world with the best opportunities and support conditions for women to grow as entrepreneurs.