The first NextGen Women Entrepreneurs Week, initiated by the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program which is implemented by Swisscontact, was vibrant and inspiring and gave 24 driven women entrepreneurs from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Peru, Serbia and Vietnam the opportunity to work in-depth on further developing their ventures.

The women entrepreneurs were accompanied by dedicated mentors and investors from their home countries who supported the entrepreneurs intensively during the week, and used the opportunity to share experiences and practices, and to develop new international connections with other women.

Active personalities from the Swiss Ecosystem joined to provide input on various aspects of venture creation, such as incorporating user insights into business development, elaborating go to market strategies, learning first-hand what investors expect and about the importance of contracts and negotiation in all business development stages. They mentored startups, shared their experiences and experienced first-hand the level of motivation and drive of the participants.

The women entrepreneurs worked intensively on target focused pitching, engaged with their peers, and worked on their challenges in mentoring sessions. The level of professionalism, dedication and energy throughout the week was outstanding.

On the last day, 7 finalists pitched their companies to a high-level jury to compete for prizes sponsored by Go Beyond, a Swiss-based Angel Investor Network. Dang Huong Giang from Vietnam won with her venture Flexfit, followed by Alana Visconti from Peru with Mesa 24/7, Dao Lan Huong from Vietnam with Teky, and Andrea Baba from Peru with FitCo.

All the participants left Switzerland after the NextGen Women Entrepreneurs Week with new inputs, a sense for success, verification of their businesses by peers and mentors, and new contacts – which will hopefully be sustained and used to encourage more women to become entrepreneurs.

Please find more information here.