12:00 - 14:00 Lunch fireside chat: What are the challenges and opportunities to valorize the entrepreneurial potential of women migrants in Belgium?

Part of the ATHENA initiative - Approaches To valorise the High ENtrepreneuriAl potential of migrant women to contribute to their social and economic integration* – Digital Leadership Institute organizes a Lunch & Learn session to discuss about how to act and support the shift towards a cultural and entrepreneurial ecosystem that embraces the diversity and added value that migrant women entrepreneurs bring to the market, and, overall, to their host communities.

During this Lunch & Learn discussion we will hear from women entrepreneurs themselves on what were their needs and experiences in setting up their businesses, and what are the practices that business support organizations put in place to accommodate these requirements.

*The ATHENA project specifically targets third-national migrant women (outside EU) that are (interested in) enterprising an economic activity in one of the EU member states covered by the project.

Program of the session:

12:00 - 13:00 - Fireside chat: What are the challenges and opportunities to valorize the entrepreneurial potential of women migrants in Belgium?

• Presentation of the findings of the report on the needs of migrant women (aspiring) entrepreneurs, Ms Loredana, Bucseneanu Digital Leadership Institute
• Ms Audrey Kamali, womeninbusiness.brussels
• Ms Anna Boroshok, Silk and Cotton Global, Fearless Female Founders

13:00 - 14:00 - WEConnect networking lunch

14:00 – 18:00 Peer-learning training for professionals and business support organizations working with migrant women

To improve the services provided by public or private organizations to migrant women on entrepreneurship, Digital Leadership Institute and its partners organizes a half-day peer-learning training. The aim is to build capacities of professionals working with migrant women, to better equip them to deliver the services of entrepreneurial support by sharing knowledge and experiences on a variety of topics that cover both administrative and business practices for third-country nationals, but also social and cultural aspects The professionals from the organizations working with entrepreneurs will be trained in the different topics that have been identified as missing or weak by the needs and demands of the migrant women, such as:

• Cultural diversity and the entrepreneurial business ecosystem in Belgium;
• Stereotypes and their impact on women entrepreneurs;
• Psychological preparedness of migrant women to uptake entrepreneurship;
• How to fund a startup?

Feedback and conclusions: https://bit.ly/38KDWqD

This training is addressed to professionals providing business support services to migrant or migrant-background women entrepreneurs or who aspire to be entrepreneurs in Belgium, both within public or private entities, as well as freelance or working in the non-profit organizations.

The detailed programme of the peer-learning training session will be available soon.