NY-WEA
The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA), today announced the global launch of its online entrepreneurship curriculum designed to inspire, educate, and empower women entrepreneurs around the world. The Online Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme was first announced during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 76) on the second anniversary of WEA.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220111005443/en/
WEA is a multi-stakeholder strategic partnership convening six United Nations agencies: International Labour Organization (ILO), International Trade Centre (ITC), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), UN Women, and Mary Kay. ITC is leading the capacity-building component of the multi-partnership.
Developed by ITC SheTrades and powered by Mary Kay in support of WEA, the guided Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme includes 27 interactive modules enriched with over 200 videos. The aim is to teach women entrepreneurs—aspiring or veteran—the skills to design and set up businesses that have potential to be economically viable. Participants will learn how to adopt an entrepreneurship culture, develop ideas through design thinking and lean start-up methodologies, prepare a business model canvas, design a pitch, identify sources of funding, find the right partners, arrange for mentorship, build a team, and set up their businesses.
The Certificate Programme covers the seven key stages of business development :
- Certificate 1: Deciding to Become an Entrepreneur (6 modules),
- Certificate 2: Developing the Idea – Business Ideation (3 modules),
- Certificate 3: Business Modelling (4 modules),
- Certificate 4: Pitching the Business (4 modules),
- Certificate 5: Funding the Venture (3 modules),
- Certificate 6: Building up the Team (4 modules),
- Certificate 7: Setting up the Business (3 modules).
The WEA Online Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme is now accessible at the fingertips of millions of women directly on the ITC SheTrades website (www.shetrades.com/en/learn/e-learning ) and on the WEA website. It is currently available in English, Spanish, and French, with Arabic, Russian and Mandarin coming in 2022. It is free for all users of shetrades.com with no barrier to entry. Participants will receive a certificate upon completion of each of the seven key stages of business development .
“The world needs more women entrepreneurs,” said Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer at Mary Kay Inc . “Almost half of all women entrepreneurs claim to be driven by the desire to contribute to the great societal good. Their impact can be immense. The WEA Online Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme is a game-changer for women and girls around the world. With the right tools and support, there’s no limit to what women can do.”
“We must increase women’s participation in international trade, helping them scale their businesses so that they become the catalysts for more inclusive and sustainable communities. Women are powerful agents of change – and empowering women benefits whole societies,” said Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre .
An official launch event will be held on January 18, 2022, at 15:00 CET in collaboration with Mary Kay. It will convene women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses from the ITC SheTrades network around the world. The event will be hosted virtually in English and will serve as a platform to present the Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme, and upcoming in-country trainings. The SheTrades team will present the entrepreneurship curriculum as well as other tools available on www.shetrades.com . Register here to the launch of WEA’s first free Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme.
The launch of the WEA Certificate Programme on the ITC SheTrades eLearning platform will also be supplemented at the national level with on-the-ground training for women from developing countries interested in entrepreneurship and/or planning to integrate into regional and global value chains. The in-country training sessions will provide practical insight and expertise to women entrepreneurs and MSMEs and will take place virtually in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and India. The training sessions will be held in Spanish (Colombia, Mexico), Portuguese (Brasil) and English (India). Sessions will focus on two main topics: “Competitiveness and Export Readiness” (19-20 January) and “Digital Marketing and e-commerce workshops” (1-3 February).
The contribution falls under ITC's “Empowering Women to Trade Programme” which contributes directly to ITC’s focus area 5 “Promoting and Mainstreaming Inclusive and Green Trade” and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5, 8 and 17.
WEA has committed to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2030.
About the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator
The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) is a multi-partnership initiative on women’s entrepreneurship convening six United Nations agencies and Mary Kay. International Labour Organization (ILO), International Trade Centre (ITC), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Global Compact (UNGC), UN Women and Mary Kay have committed to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2030. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to maximize the development impact of women entrepreneurship in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by creating an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs around the world. The Accelerator exemplifies the transformational power of a multi-partnership of unique magnitude to harness the potential of women entrepreneurs. Learn more at we-accelerate.com
. Follow us: Twitter and Instagram (@we_accelerator), Facebook and LinkedIn (@womensentrepreneurshipaccelerator).
About ITC SheTrades
The International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative aims to connect three million women to market by 2021 and rallies stakeholders around the world to work together to address trade barriers and create greater opportunities for women entrepreneurs. It is supported by a web and mobile digital platform. For more information, please visit SheTrades.com: https://www.shetrades.com/en
.
About the International Trade Centre
The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, visit www.intracen.org
. Follow ITC on Twitter
| Facebook
| LinkedIn
| Instagram
| Flickr
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220111005443/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
VSO Unveils VCP v1.0, a First-of-Its-Kind Cryptographic Audit Protocol to Restore Trust in AI-Driven Markets28.11.2025 06:30:00 CET | Press release
New open standard replaces opaque server logs with mathematically verifiable evidence, helping market participants meet EU AI Act and MiFID II transparency requirements The VeritasChain Standards Organization (VSO), an independent international standards body, today announced the global release of VeritasChain Protocol (VCP) v1.0, an open cryptographic audit protocol designed to provide mathematically provable transparency for AI‑driven and algorithmic trading systems. VCP replaces mutable server logs with a tamper‑evident chain of cryptographic evidence, enabling regulators, brokers, exchanges and trading firms to move from trust‑based oversight to verification‑based supervision. Why This Matters Now The launch of VCP v1.0 comes at a pivotal moment for global market infrastructure: More than 80 proprietary trading firms collapsed between 2024 and 2025 amid regulatory scrutiny, opaque execution models and frozen payout disputes, leaving a trust gap between traders and platforms. Regula
Andersen Consulting styrker sine kompetencer med BMA27.11.2025 22:48:00 CET | Pressemeddelelse
Andersen Consulting udvider sine kompetencer inden for bæredygtighed og virksomhedsforandring gennem en samarbejdsaftale med BMA, der er et sydafrikansk firma, som arbejder for at styrke konkurrenceevnen i fremstillingsindustrien og fremme inkluderende industriel vækst. BMA, der blev etableret for mere end to årtier siden, arbejder på tværs af produktionsværdikæder – fra producenter til deres kunder – sammen med myndigheder og udviklingsagenturer for at fremme bæredygtig industriel konkurrenceevne. Gennem sine sektorfokuserede industrielle klynger leverer firmaet integrerede tjenester inden for industriel politik og strategisk udvikling, værdikædestrategi, produktionskonkurrenceevne og lean-rådgivning, reduktion af CO2-udledning samt udvikling af små og mellemstore virksomheder og samler interessenter omkring fælles prioriteter og skalerbare, langsigtede løsninger. "Bæredygtig produktion handler om mere end effektivitet. Det drejer sig om at skabe økosystemer, der er regenerative, resi
Stronghold’s SHx Token Lists on Uphold27.11.2025 16:00:00 CET | Press release
Multi-Chain Expansion Accelerates With New Listing on a Trusted Platform Supporting Both Stellar and Ethereum Stronghold announced that its SHx token is now available for retail users to trade on Uphold, the global multi-asset digital money platform known for its transparency, regulatory alignment, and seamless support for assets across both the Stellar and Ethereum networks. The listing marks a major milestone for SHx, expanding access for users and businesses who rely on Stronghold’s token for payments, settlements, and governance participation. "Uphold is one of the only platforms that provides seamless support for both Stellar and Ethereum-based tokens, making it a perfect fit for SHx as we grow our multi-chain ecosystem. This listing was championed by our community, and we’re thrilled to deliver on a request that so many SHx holders have been asking for." — Tammy Camp, CEO & Co-Founder, Stronghold SHx is Stronghold’s native utility token, powering interoperable payments, DeFi-base
Wipro to Power Odido’s Digital Future Through AI-enabled End-to-End IT Modernization27.11.2025 14:22:00 CET | Press release
The multi-year engagement marks a significant shift in Odido’s IT strategywith Wipro bringing deep domain expertise, AI-powered delivery, and a design-led approach to drive innovation Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading AI-powered technology services and consulting company, today announced a multi-year engagement with Odido Netherlands B.V.* to transform its IT landscape and enhance customer experience across their enterprise and consumer segments. By combining AI and deep consulting expertise, Wipro will help Odido improve customer engagement and satisfaction, improve productivity, and streamline operations to reduce costs. A key highlight of this multi-year engagement is the use of a self-funded model, where productivity-driven savings are reinvested to continuously fund new digital initiatives, ensuring that innovation remains both sustainable and scalable. As part of the engagement, Wipro will lead a full-scale modernization of Odido’s digital and enterpri
Klarna Set to Take off With Lufthansa Group, Bringing Flexible Payments to Travellers Across Europe and the U.S.27.11.2025 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, today announces a new multi-market partnership with Lufthansa Group, Europe’s leading airline group. The new agreement is facilitated by Klarna’s integration with Adyen, the financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses. From November, Lufthansa Group customers will be able to choose Klarna’s flexible payment options at checkout when booking travel experiences. This new integration gives travellers greater control and convenience by offering the choice to pay in full, pay later, or spread the cost of their journey over time. The new options will be available first to customers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. “Travel is one of the most meaningful investments people make,” said David Sykes, Chief Commercial Officer at Klarna. “Together, we’re giving travellers the confidence to book their trips their way—with more flexibilit
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom