“FOCUS on your growth and the development of your venture”
Miami, FL Aug. 5, 2019 – The Idea Center at Miami Dade College (MDC) is partnering with CISNEROS to launch FOCUS: Mujeres Emprendedoras, a 12-week program designed for Venezuelan women entrepreneurs who are based in South Florida and are looking to validate the scalability of their early-stage ventures.
FOCUS will be taught in English to allow participants to strengthen their communication skills, ease the transition into the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and expand their market opportunities. Participants will meet on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., at MDC’s Idea Center, starting Sept. 10 until Nov. 26.
By leveraging different methodologies, including Lean Startup, Design Thinking and Business Model Canvas, FOCUS aims to help Venezuelan women entrepreneurs gain self-confidence, be proficient in the process of identifying and validating their assumptions and become more effective collaborators.
The program is targeted to bilingual (English-Spanish) Venezuelan residents based in South Florida, who are open to feedback; proficient in computing systems and technical applications; have existing ideas or early-stage ventures with expertise in the industry; and monthly sales less than $5,000. Also, entrepreneurs should have availability of $500 to be applied to their ventures as the program progresses.
Through the “get out of the building” approach, FOCUS entrepreneurs will test their prototypes with potential customers and challenge assumptions about their business model. Tuesday sessions will have lecture and hands-on components and will be delivered by subject-matter experts from the community who will be sharing their knowledge and key experiences.
“This initiative is a result of our ongoing commitment to contribute to gender equality through access to learning opportunities for women and girls, and we are particularly excited to support Venezuelan migrants as they develop their ventures in a new business environment,” said Maria Ignacia Arcaya, SVP of Social Impact and Institutional Relations at CISNEROS.
“Women entrepreneurs represent the engine of growth needed to build a more sustainable and equitable economy – especially those with the drive and resilience fueled by the context of Venezuela,” added Gustavo Grande, FOCUS Program Manager and Lead Instructor.
For more information, please visit: http://theideacenter.co/focus/ or contact Carolina Pina, Program Coordinator at cpina1@mdc.edu.
MDC Media-only contacts: Juan C. Mendieta, MDC director of communications, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu; Hessy Fernandez, director of media relations, 305-237-3949, hfernan5@mdc.edu; Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu; Allison Horton, 305-237-3359, ahorton2@mdc.edu; or Norma Ardila, 305-237-3607,nardila@mdc.edu
For more information about CISNEROS, please visit: http://www.cisneros.com or contact Maria Ignacia Arcaya, SVP Social Impact and Institutional Relations at marcaya@cisneros.com