From simulation to market: Learning by doing to improve skills for women small business owners

This post is by the Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership (CELIS) at INCAE Business School, which is building the digital skills and financial resilience of Dominican women-led small businesses through the EMPRO program.

Last month, a group of almost fifty women small business owners met at a campus surrounded by a tropical rainforest in Alajuela, about an hour’s drive northwest of San José, Costa Rica. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, the group participated in an immersive week-long experience, which included in-person training in operations, finance, communications, digital marketing, and other topics to enhance their skills as small business leaders.

“The face-to-face interaction allowed us to develop empathy, trust, and strengthen the bonds between the participants,” explains Angélica Luciano Ferdinand, a participant and owner of Pan Tojao, a bakery. “It also helped us to exercise in scenarios that required our concentration and ability to work under pressure. […] Everything we have learned is 100% applicable if we assume with discipline the commitment to grow our companies and environments.”

This immersive boot camp is part of the “Empresarias Progresando” (EMPRO) program, an initiative from INCAE Business School and Mastercard Strive in the Dominican Republic. The program leverages digital tools and financial resources to support the growth and resilience of women-led small businesses.

EMPRO was born from the need to reduce the barriers that women-led small businesses in the region face. “Studies show that the digitalization gap in women-led companies continues to be a challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean, limiting their competitiveness and growth,” explains Gabriela Lucke, Director of the Center for Inclusive and Sustainable Leadership of INCAE. “The main goal of the program in the Dominican Republic is to provide these women entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge, and connections necessary to increase their access to financing and expand their businesses into new markets.”

During this eight-month program, women entrepreneurs and business owners participate in virtual and face-to-face classes, mentoring, and personalized tutoring. From 500 applications, EMPRO selected 100 women business owners to participate in evaluated academic activities, including courses with INCAE’s professors and self-guided modules on Mastercard Strive’s Hora de Crecer e-learning platform. After considering their performance, the program narrowed the selection to fifty participants for the trip to Alajuela.

Simulation is a core element of EMPRO and a key focus for the boot camp. Through practical exercises, participants apply their knowledge to business case studies. The diversity of participants is also a key element of the EMPRO program — it enhances the simulation by sharing different perspectives and finding innovative solutions. The women, aged 30 to 60, come from 12 provinces within the Dominican Republic, encompassing 17 different productive sectors, including food services, agriculture, industry, hospitality, and health care.

During their week in Alajuela, participants learned by doing, ending their participation with a simulated business meeting with actual procurement officers from PriceSmart or a pitch for a social media campaign. The women business owners met with INCAE’s professors, whose regional vision supports participants in creating an expanding business mindset. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to hold networking meetings with other women business owners from Costa Rica. Interactions within the group and with others expand participants’ professional networks and provide insights into business situations from diverse perspectives, enhancing the overall learning experience. The mix of digital education complemented with face-to-face simulation activities has proven to be a successful method in previous editions of EMPRO across the region.

Now back in the Dominican Republic, the women business owners are preparing for their final business round and social media campaigns as part of the EMPRO program. This learning journey will culminate with a showcase event where the Strive-supported entrepreneurs pitch their offerings to large businesses and investors to expand their customer base and explore new sales opportunities. Ultimately, the EMPRO program supports women-led small businesses to grow and thrive in an increasingly digital economy.