Women and International Business Brazilian Program Empowering Female Entrepreneurs

08 Mar, 2024

Women and International Business Brazilian Program Empowering Female Entrepreneurs

Companies that export are more competitive, earn higher profits and employ more people, but there are still few women who benefit from opportunities in international markets. To transform this reality in Brazil, ApexBrasil created the Women and International Business Program, which in less than a year has already assisted almost 3,000 companies led by women. Including women equally in the economy isn't just fair: it's more efficient and good for business. According to a report produced by the Global McKinsey Institute, if there were full wage equality between men and women, global GDP could increase by up to 28 trillion dollars. This untapped potential is the result of the gender-based division of labor, which perpetuates male power in the professional environment, with higher positions and salaries, while women are directed towards domestic activities. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2023, published by the World Economic Forum, the gender parity rate in the workforce is still 68.6%. At the current rate of global evolution, it will take 131 years to achieve full parity.

Foreign trade can help speed up this equalization. Companies that trade globally tend to be more productive, since exporting leads to market expansion, sales growth and access to new technologies. Not surprisingly, firms that operate in foreign markets create more and better jobs. The inclusion of women in international business can therefore bring significant benefits to the economy.

Statistically, however, female entrepreneurs are still far from global opportunities. According to a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only 11% of small and medium-sized enterprises led by women export, compared to 19% of companies with this profile led by men in 2022.

As well as being concentrated in less export-oriented sectors, such as services, women-led businesses are generally smaller, so they can't afford the fixed costs necessary for internationalization and are more risk-averse. In Brazil, the asymmetry is particularly pronounced. According to a report prepared by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), only 14% of Brazilian exporting companies are majority-owned by women. The potential for expanding female participation is enormous, bringing with it income, employment and a virtuous cycle of equity and equality.

According to data collected by the World Bank and the WTO (2020), when developing countries double their exports of manufactured goods, the share of women in total manufacturing wages increases by an average of 5.8 percentage points. The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) made its first efforts to establish a channel for dialog with businesswomen and institutions supporting female entrepreneurship. In June, the Agency implemented the Women and International Business Program. The initiative was set up to help increase the number of Brazilian companies led by women in the Brazilian export base and in global value chains. The Program's business model is based on applying a gender lens to the Agency's pillars of action: commercial intelligence, qualification, commercial promotion, international expansion, attracting investment and promoting the country's image.

The program includes specific actions, 100% aimed at women-owned businesses, and inclusive actions, through the adoption of affirmative mechanisms for female leaders in all regulations and company selection notices. The inclusion tools include: additional points in calls for tenders, vacancies, discounts and tie-breaking criteria for women-owned businesses. The program targets companies, start-ups, socio-productive organizations and civil society organizations led by women, with an emphasis on micro and small companies, of all export maturities from all regions, from all sectors of goods, services and agriculture.

In the first six months of the initiative, the results are already visible. ApexBrasil's assistance to companies led by women increased by 32%, from 2,161 in 2022 to 2,883 in 2023. In total, almost 700 new companies with female leadership were supported by the Agency last year, which directly participated in more than 30 actions carried out under the Program.

"The aspiration to bring more women into international business is materializing in effective actions, impacting hundreds of businesswomen and echoing in the work of different government entities and partners. May we be able to do even more in 2024," says Ana Paula Repezza. Alessandra Bezerra, CEO and founder of the Amazonian furniture brand Ybyrá Biodesign, was one of those impacted by the Agency's new program. With female leadership, the company managed to be selected to take part in Exporta Mais Brasil, an ApexBrasil initiative that brings together Brazilian entrepreneurs with international buyers for business rounds. "On the very first day, we were the first company to close a deal," explains Alessandra, who celebrated her first sale to a German businessman during the event.

Until she was ready to start exporting, Alessandra, who runs the company together with her husband, says she went through an intense process of training and maturing the business. Ybyrá's journey began in 2020, during the pandemic, when the couple from Amapá were living in Rio Grande do Sul, running a marketing company. Faced with the adverse scenario, they decided to bet on a new sector: they noticed the popularity of wooden furniture in Serra Gaúcha and decided to take the idea to their home state, which has high-quality wood from the Amazon Forest, despite facing the challenges of illegal logging.

The decision to return to the northern region marked the beginning of Ybyrá's journey, which was born with socio-environmental concerns. "We love our natural resources, we live off them. I can't open a company that's going to work with furniture manufacturing if I don't have these foundations very well established, which is the preservation of the place where I live," she says.

To get the company off the ground, the couple took part in Sebrae's Inova Amazônia program, where they realized the international potential of the business. With an innovative product design, produced with quality and sustainable inputs, there was a strong appeal for foreign consumers. That's why they soon sought out ApexBrasil's Export Qualification Program, PEIEX, which they went through between 2022 and 2023. "It was our first preparation so that we could reach the international market, which was a dream of ours," says the businesswoman. Less than a year later, Ybyrá was selected for the action that resulted in its first export to Germany