Emprende Pro Mujer: Education as a Tool for Transformation and Autonomy

"My sadness prompted me to look for a distraction in handicrafts, an activity that has become my livelihood. My depressive episodes slowly turned into a business, a 3D creative stationery store. This dream began as a pastime that lifted me up whenever I had a hard day. Today, it has manifested as a business that grew by expanding beyond national borders. My business has taught me to work on myself, to rebuild myself.

- Fragment from Evelyn's story, an entrepreneur from San José, Costa Rica, who was part of the first Pro Mujer book, "Ellas Emprenden: Historias de Mujeres Latinoamericanas".

Our 34 years of experience working with women have shown that education and access to skill development opportunities are essential for empowering micro-entrepreneurs in the region to make decisions in favor of their financial independence and wellbeing.

Emprende Pro Mujer, a digital learning platform for women entrepreneurs looking for economic prosperity, is taking on the challenge of providing skills-development opportunities for all women who reach out to Pro Mujer. The regional outreach program has been designed to impact more and more women, with fun and up-to-date contents and with the gender perspectivein mind, as well as their daily lives and their personal situations.

Pro Mujer puts women, their needs, and their aspirations front and center. Years of listening and personalized work have resulted in a unique program tailored to the needs of its users. The program is inspired the vision of Rudolph Steiner, the father of anthroposophy, and stems from this philosophical movement. Rudolph Steiner claimed that "humans have the capacity to acquire knowledge from themselves, by developing their intuitionand their innate capacity to learn". Anthroposophy regards humanity as an essential source of theory and practice, so, it follows that, in order to generate a real impact for women, educational programs must place them front and center.

Through Emprende Pro Mujer, users receive advice and have access to entertaining and easy-to-understand educational materials adapted to each stage of their entrepreneurial journey, from creation to expansion, available anywhere, at any time. The materials allow them to acquire leadership, digital, management, personal development, finance, and sales skills, which are all essential tools for entrepreneurship. Also, these women become part of a networking space and gain access to networks composed of mentors and peers, with whom they may connect and share learning experiences.

We have innovative resources and a short-form content space to carry out entrepreneurial training: Somos Expertas. This space brings together professional women, leaders, trained in specific topics and business owners who have completed the Emprende Pro Mujer program, with the aim of strengthening what they have learned.

In the context of the program, and in partnership with Mercado Pago, we have launched Todas Digitales, a program that seeks to propel the competencies of women entrepreneurs through education in technology and finance, so they may join the virtual world, reach more clients, and empower their businesses. The initiative includes a series of trainings in digital skills that can be started at the basic, intermediate, or advanced levels, depending on prior knowledge.

Emprende Pro Mujer has touched the lives of over 66,000 women in 23 countries since its launch in 2021. In 2023 alone, 37,000women entrepreneurs furthered their skills through the program: 86%became better leaders; 87%believe their sales will improve thanks to the program; 85%improved their soft skills; 48%improved their financial skills; and 34%incorporated digital sales channels.