A new Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts initiative establishes Georgia Tech and Atlanta as a development nexus for women entrepreneurs on four continents.

A legacy project of the Ivan Allen College’s Africa Atlanta 2014, the Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (GWEI) is one of the many innovative and transformative initiatives developed under the leadership of Ivan Allen College Dean Jacqueline Royster. The GWEI is designed to foster connectivity among women entrepreneurs in Atlanta and across the globe. The inaugural GWEI Institute held in Atlanta from November 1 - 4 brought together more than 40 African and Atlanta-based women entrepreneurs and provided them with a platform to develop their business skills, improve their international contacts, and facilitate their access to global markets through exposure, networking, and knowledge sharing.

“The Institute is one of the signature ways in which we are adding value to the vast landscape of programs addressing the needs of women entrepreneurs across the globe,” said DeShawn Jenkins, the GWEI’s managing director. “This strategic endeavor highlights the Ivan Allen College’s contributions towards Georgia Tech's purpose and endeavors as a world-class center of learning and innovation.”

The program hosted female entrepreneurs from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Zambia, as well as from the City of Atlanta Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. Industries represented in the African cohort included technology, agribusiness, marketing, manufacturing, and film and entertainment.

In addition to panels and training sessions presented by international entrepreneurial experts such as Susan Nethero, Felicia Mabuza Suttle, and Adrienne Johnson, the GWEI Institute also included unique experiences such as the mobile apps demo session, the downtown Atlanta women-owned business crawl — which featured several businesses by Georgia Tech alumni including Arden’s Garden’s Leslie Zinn and Daniela Staiculescu of Condesa Coffee — and a closing reception hosted by Gene Kansas, owner of the Atlanta Daily World building. All of these events served as opportunities for participants to forge connections with local entrepreneurs and industry leaders and to share their own unique and international experiences.

The events also contributed to fostering a spirit of global comradery and support amongst participants.

“All I needed was to be with all the other SuperWomen,” said Persis Ashers, founder of the afriQuest in Nairobi, Kenya. “I am already looking forward to next year as I work on our strategic plan, and I am committed to keep lifting [other women] as I climb.”

Looking ahead, the GWEI is already planning a 2016 Institute which will also include student participants in the pipeline of women entrepreneurs. It will continue to develop programs aimed at establishing and increasing global contacts, focus, and capacity for women entrepreneurs.

In the meantime, Jenkins and her team will work to strengthen partnerships between the African and Atlanta-based Institute participants and connect with an increasingly diverse group of international women entrepreneurs. “The idea is to expand our scope to encompass not only Africa, but also women in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East as well,” Jenkins said.

Royster said organizing and hosting the GWEI Institute “felt like a dream come true.”

“We welcomed 18 amazing women entrepreneurial leaders from six African countries, and we connected that group with equally amazing entrepreneurs here in the City of Atlanta,” Royster said. “Under the banner of "Making Money and Making a Difference," the speakers and facilitators who led our workshops were fantastic, and the conversations that ensued from their presentations were phenomenal. The GWEI was everything that I had hoped for and more, and now I am more inspired than ever to carry this momentum forward.”