Leading Women Entrepreneurs from Around the World Gathered in New York
Leading Women Entrepreneurs from Around the World Gathered in New York
Nov. 21, 2011 (NEW YORK)– Nineteen of the world’s most promising women entrepreneurs were recognized at the fifth annual International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) awards conference, an initiative of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organization. The event, hosted in New York this year by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, honored leading female entrepreneurs who are building thriving and growing ventures and beginning to take their businesses global. And giving back through their companies’ corporate social responsibility activities. New York’s Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, opened the conference and congratulated all the awardees and Mayor Bloomberg sent a letter of congratulations as well.
Often defying societal and cultural expectations, this talented group of women has transformed localized start-up companies into multi-million dollar organizations. These nineteen CEOs, managing directors, presidents, founders and owners operate their businesses in a variety of regions and across industries ranging from management consulting to retail, organic health and beauty, technology, and hospitality, and others. And these are not small businesses. In 2010 and 2011 alone, IWEC has honored entrepreneurs whose businesses generate upwards of $3 billion in annual revenues and directly or indirectly employ more than 30,000 people.
As part of the conference, the IWEC honorees took part in a four-day educational and networking program held in various locations around Manhattan. They were introduced to investors, potential commercial partners, trade officials, and more than 500 other entrepreneurs in an effort to expand their businesses and increase their exposure to global business contacts. This is the second time that New York hosted an IWEC Awards Conference (New York first hosted IWEC in 2008); previous conferences were hosted in Barcelona (2007), New Delhi (2009) and Cape Town (2010).
Nancy Ploeger, President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, said, “It is a privilege to have hosted such an inspiring group of businesswomen in New York this year. The breadth and scope of these delegates is remarkable, and our hope is that the connections the IWEC program facilitates will help them to further scale their already successful businesses.”
Xavier Carbonell, Managing Director of the Barcelona Chambers of Commerce, noted, “The achievements of the 2011 honorees are a testament to their innovation, hard work and commitment. Their significant economic and social contributions remind us of the value and importance of empowering women entrepreneurs.”
Juan María Nin, Deputy Chairman and CEO of CaixaBank, Spain’s third largest financial institution and a founding sponsor of IWEC, attended the conference and conducted a workshop on Business Leadership with awardees and other participants.
“Year after year, IWEC’s network keeps growing, expanding and providing more and more networking opportunities to members and awardees. We are grateful to these women for their dedication to improving their communities and their local-turned-global businesses. Their achievements are exemplary and la Caixa is proud to support and celebrate them this year as we have since IWEC”s inception,” Nin said.
IWEC is also supported by leading financial institutions, trade associations and educational institutions including:MetLife, IESE Business School, the Asia Society of New York, SDI International and HSBC.
The 2011 Awards were presented at the Asia Society and was webcast. A cocktail reception followed in the Garden Court at the Asia Society.
Get more information about IWEC.
