The Women with Purpose initiative of PepsiCo Latin America seeks to train and empower 12 thousand women in seven Latin American countries, including the Dominican Republic, through an education and entrepreneurship plan based on face-to-face workshops and free virtual courses
SANTO DOMINGO, February 14, 2018.- The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeño, led the graduation 253 ladies, of which 150 belong to the government social initiative Progressing with Solidarity (Prosoli), who participated in a program called Women with Purpose, developed by the company PepsiCo and FUNDES Latin America to improve their job opportunities and integrate them into the product market and enterprises.
The joint initiative seeks to empower and empower 12 thousand women in seven Latin American countries including the Dominican Republic through an education and entrepreneurship plan based on face-to-face workshops and free virtual courses to optimize their skills, promote employability and improve their income.
This group of graduates belongs to the first training cycle that began on May 2018 with Prosoli, in different areas of entrepreneurship and small business development, as part of an agreement signed last year for such purposes between the Vice Presidency of the Republic, PepsiCo, and FUNDES. The Women with Purpose initiative is also developed in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela, and aims to impact 12 thousand women. Until today more than 4200 women are registered on the online platform throughout the region, and more than 1800 women have completed the program.
In the activity, held in the Green Room of the National Palace, the Vice President was accompanied by the general manager of PepsiCo in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, Constancio Salazar; FUNDES business manager, Héctor Cerna; and the director of Prosoli, Altagracia Suriel, while the entrepreneur Rosanna Bienvenida Feliz spoke on behalf of the group of trained women.
During the course, four face-to-face workshops called My Life Plan, Personal Skills for Successful Performance, The Power of Contacts to Grow (Networking) and Personal Economy for Small Businesses are developed, and thus help them achieve their goals as entrepreneurs. While in the program developed in the virtual platform, the modules were worked: Being a better entrepreneur, Improving my management, Improving my sales and Work profile.
Other initiatives
The coordinator of the Cabinet of Social Policies (GCPS) also promotes several initiatives aimed at training the members of thousands of families intervened by the Government as a way to increase family income and boost their escape from poverty.
Among those are the SUPER Emprendedoras project, aimed at Prosoli participants who have a micro-entrepreneurship, with an optimistic attitude and between the ages of 18 and 65.
PepsiCo Latin America is a division that includes all its beverage, food, and snack businesses in Latin America and covers 34 emerging and developing markets. Our beverage, food and snack businesses in Latin America include categories of snacks, beverages, sweet and savory cookies, and nutrition, which generated USD $ 7.2 billion in net income in 2017. Our beverage business in the region operates through 12 major bottlers.
FUNDES is an international organization that promotes the competitive development of MSMEs in Latin America. With the support of technological tools, it promotes the growth and professionalization of micro, small and medium enterprises, allowing them to efficiently connect to the value chains of the different sectors, impacting economic growth and improving services in the communities where they work.
Prosoli is a social protection program that combines conditional cash transfers, capacity building, social and family support, and the link to social services offered by the State and civil society. It involves more than 850 thousand families in extreme and moderate poverty throughout the country.
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