Enterprising Women Reach Beyond Borders, by Ra?l Pierri

Saturday, June 18, 2005

The Calma?ana cooperative, now made up of 25 women, pioneered organic farming in Uruguay. Their products, marketed under the brand name CampoClaro, are sold in local supermarkets and exported to Spain and Italy.

The women now hope to expand their horizons even further thanks to an international project know as WINNER (Women into the New Network for Entrepreneurial Reinforcement).

WINNER, created by Devnet (an international network that provides business information and management assistance services to micro, small and medium size enterprises worldwide), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), is aimed at helping women entrepreneurs to more effectively and competitively sell their goods and services on the local, national and international market.

Financed by the Italian government aid agency Cooperazione Italiana, the network encompasses enterprises owned by women as well as women’s organisations and foundations, noted the coordinator of the project in Uruguay, Mar?a de los Angeles Torres.

Torres was speaking at the launch in Montevideo Thursday of a new phase of expansion of the network, which is opening new offices in a number of Latin American countries.

One of WINNER’s missions is to promote capacity-building by providing women entrepreneurs with training in e-commerce, international trade, fair trade, business management and gender issues, through conventional classes or over the Internet, explained Torres.
Story found here.

Source: IPS