Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 7-11, 2000

The 1995 World Summit for Social Development, the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, and the Summits of the Americas have all expressed growing concern about the poverty and unemployment encountered among broad sectors of the population, particularly women.

CIM’s Strategic Plan of Action, adopted in November 1994 by its Twenty-seventh Assembly of Delegates, the mandates of which include the eradication of poverty as a basic goal of development, pays particular attention to the unequal conditions faced by women and places high priority on overcoming poverty. The Meeting of Ministers held in April 2000 adopted the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality, the goals of which include promoting full and equal participation of women in all aspects of economic, social, political, and cultural development. More recently, the Plan of Action of Quebec City, adopted in April 2001 at the Third Summit of the Americas, specifically recognizes the need to promote, in conjunction with CIM and other agencies of the inter-American system and international organizations, improved market access for disadvantaged entrepreneurs, especially women. The Plan of Action’s Initiative 15 is dedicated to Gender Equality and it recognizes, inter alia, that women’s empowerment, their full and equal participation in the development of our societies, and their equal opportunities to exercise leadership are all central to the reduction of poverty.

A business leadership training program for young women and men was conducted on May 7-11, 2001, as the result of a cooperation initiative undertaken jointly by three Subsecretariats of the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) of the OAS, and the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center (MCTC) of Israel.

The training course was administered by Mrs. Shulamit Ferdman, the Golda Meir Center’s Director of Courses on Managing Microenterprises, together with a group of Argentine women entrepreneurs belonging to the Chamber of Women Small Business Owners, who had previously been trained in Israel, and other local instructors.

The participants were young entrepreneurs with small businesses, civil society organizations, and municipal staff working in departments concerned with production, development of microenterprises, and employment.

One of the originally envisioned prerequisites of the training program was equal participation by men and women (50:50), but in fact women accounted for almost 70 percent of those trained. The objectives of the course were focused on improving the participants’ skills in: 1) analyzing problems associated with the establishment and management of microenterprises; 2) promoting the empowerment of women through development of microenterprises; 3) practical experience with organization, management, production costs, and marketing strategies, matching the opportunities open to women microentrepreneurs; and 4) learning from successful microenterprise support center projects.

During the event, the participants enthusiastically prepared several small-business project proposals and presented them for discussion at the end of the course, with a detailed analysis of the feasibility of their being implemented, in light of market needs, credit availability, and the products’ potential end-users. Networking with other microentrepreneurs resulted in a highly useful exchange of experiences.

During the program it became quite clear that microentrepreneurial ventures represented an increasingly interesting and viable alternative, in view of the growing problems of unemployment and underemployment, both of which hit women the hardest. It was also noted that the number of women in the labor force continues to grow, but they still face the direst poverty, as they work mainly in the informal sector of the economy and have low paying jobs.

The following topics emerged as central issues in the discussions:

1. The need to develop support systems for microenterprises, to provide technical advice and assistance during the first period of survival, especially in the first two years following start-up.

2. The status of women and the obstacles they face in setting up a company and, in particular, in obtaining credit, despite a worldwide trend in favor of women microentrepreneurs because of their better debt repayment record and statistically better sustainability levels.

According to the information presented by the experts, in Israel over half all microenterprises owned by women are in the service sector and 30 percent in sales, and have proved to be a viable alternative for small working family groups.

3. The dilemma and tension of conflicting roles in the home and at work was a concern of the women participants in particular, despite the trend toward a more egalitarian society where the division of labor between men and women is becoming less rigid and the sharing of roles is considered an ideal situation which should be aspired to.

4. Participants analyzed the characteristic traits of successful women entrepreneurs, who had no prior experience, but were keen to take the initiative, be independent, get organized, and improve their economic lot. The women microentrepreneurs providing the training agreed that, in their experience of working with microentrepreneurs, the key factor was not so much technical skill as the degree of motivation of each entrepreneur and his or her personal talents and the extent to which they were channeled in the right direction and perfected in the right environment, such as that provided by business incubators and support centers.

5. The effects of recessions and the need to generate jobs through self-employment are common problems in most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Several evaluation meetings were held after the workshop ended. They were attended by the national organizers, representatives of the Golda Meir Training Center, the CIM, and the Young Americas Business Trust.

The following proposals were put forward with a view to improving the training program and ensuring continuity:

1. Through the Israeli embassy in Argentina, the Golda Meir International Training Center offered the possibility of fellowships for training in microenterprise projects at the Center’s headquarters in Israel for pre-selected candidates. The next course is scheduled for November 2001.

2. It was suggested that the representatives of the government of Buenos Aires province could study the possibility of developing "Business Incubators and/or Technology-based Incubators" of the kind already extensively tested by the State of Israel. They would be implemented in specific municipalities around the province under the auspices of CIM.

The Golda Meir Training Center provided reference materials, written specifically for this workshop, on various aspects of microenterprise management and the part it plays in local economic development. In those materials "technological incubator" is defined as a facility to support fledgling technological innovators so that they can nurture their innovative ideas, turn them into commercially viable products, and attract private sector investors. The experts reported that in Israel there are currently thirty interconnected incubators providing support for all aspects of microentrepreneurial development.

The Centers for the Support of Small Enterprises operate as independent, self-sustaining units. Together they act as an office centralizing responses to the needs of existing male and female entrepreneurs and of those starting up and planning new enterprises, helping them to develop a business plan, deal with banks and municipalities, and analyze the feasibility of their projects.

3. In a later phase the invitation to take part would be extended to include chambers of small and medium-sized businesses, chambers of commerce, and business associations existing in the municipalities.

4. The Golda Meir Training Center and CIM presented the representatives of the provincial government with a proposal for the establishment or improvement of microenterprise support centers (see Appendix 1) and for the creation of business incubators and high technology-based incubators.

IV. MEETINGS WITH THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN

Two meetings were held with Mrs. Carmen Storani, Director of the Argentine government’s National Council of Women, representatives of the CIM, the Golda Meir International Training Center, and the Cooperation Department of the Israeli embassy in Argentina. Mrs. Storani expressed great interest in developing cooperative ties with CIM and with the Golda Meir Center, most particularly with respect to technological incubators and incubators or support centers for microbusinesses in different regions of the country. To that end, a study would be conducted of the conditions, needs, and background data on microenterprises in several provinces with a view to preparing a preliminary joint project.