US Agency will invest two million dollars in a project for women in Ecuador

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will invest 2 million dollars in the development and empowerment of 600 women in 10 cities in Ecuador, through the initiative called "Power."

Project Management and Duration by IMPAQTO

This project, managed by IMPAQTO, will fulfill an agenda of training and support activities until 2025.

Its purpose is to provide business training to enhance the businesses of women in vulnerable situations (migrants, the LGBTI community, indigenous nationality, people with different abilities, and others).

The first edition of this project culminated with a fair and a graduation ceremony that took place on September 26 in the Andean city of Cuenca, located in southern Ecuador.

Currently, the training agenda is carried out in the Amazonian province of Pastaza, where more than 60 entrepreneurs participated in the first training module on entrepreneurship issues and the Gender-Based Violence Awareness Workshop.

Training will continue both virtually and in person for 7 weeks.

The program will end with the Entrepreneurship Festival on December 15 and the Graduation Ceremony a day later.

Training Agenda and Modalities

This initiative is carried out in comprehensive training cycles, which in addition to improving technical and soft skills, work from a holistic view of the female entrepreneur: emotional support, family planning, and mentoring on various topics.

Topics include finance and basic accounting; marketing and sales; digital sales; legal notions, technology, leadership, and awareness of gender violence issues.

"The 'Power' Project has been created to generate a powerful network of leaders of their own businesses; we also work on a community strengthening component in which people share the learning received throughout the process with other entrepreneurs in the country," said Ana Ortiz, technical coordinator of the project.

He advanced that a national network will be created from this experience that will last after the intervention and closure of the cycle.

"This space allows us to be better human beings, to be reciprocal with other women to improve ourselves as entrepreneurs and working women that we are. But more than anything it allows us to form a community among ourselves to strengthen our businesses," commented Giomar Cajeca, an entrepreneur from the city of Puyo.

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Calls and Requirements to Participate

Entrepreneurs should be attentive to the publications of the calls for each city on the IMPAQTO social networks (@impaqtoec).

The main requirement is to have an ongoing business led by women, be between 18 and 60 years old, and be a woman resident in the areas to be intervened or nearby.

The project does not exclude entrepreneurs due to their gender identity, religion, disability, origin, ethnicity, or others, IMPACTO said in a statement.