Call for Application: Applications Due by Wednesday, November 7!
SWISS EP WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS WEEK 2019

AGENDA
Mon-Fri March 11-15, 2019
Arrival: Sunday, March 10, 2019
Departure: Saturday, March 16, 2019
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Participants: 4 women entrepreneurs, 2 mentors, and 1 investor
Participating costs are fully covered for successful candidates.

What is the Women Entrepreneurs Week?
The Women Entrepreneurs Week aims at supporting the new generation of women entrepreneurs from Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Peru and Vietnam who are focused on creating market value to drive business growth. The one-week program will be held in Switzerland and will bring in both local mentors and investors from those countries, as well as Swiss and international mentors, to support these women in identifying and leveraging the strengths that women bring to their startups and to overcome road blocks preventing their businesses from growing.

Who are the women entrepreneurs?
The women entrepreneurs are the CEO/founder of a venture with a unique product or service already in the market striving for future global expansion, and working full time in the company.

Who are the mentors/investors?
The mentors are successful entrepreneurs, investors and business people from those six countries, Switzerland, and potentially other countries. These successful mentors and investors have experience with women entrepreneurs and will provide inspiration and lessons from their own stories, engage on important entrepreneurship topics, and work to improve the business models of the NextGen Women Entrepreneurs.

Components of the week

  • Close exchange, networking, knowledge sharing among aspiring women entrepreneurs
  • Mentoring sessions
  • Pitching sessions
  • Inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs and mentors
  • Round tables
  • Reflections…and a lot of room to engage with others

Important dates

  • November 7, 2018: Applications are Due
  • November 16, 2018: Selection made and participants notified. Begin visa application process
  • March 10th, 2019: Depart for Switzerland

Who Should Apply and the Selection Criteria/Eligibility

Criteria for women entrepreneurs

  • Co-Founder or CEO of the venture
  • Unique product/service already on the market (i.e. first sales achieved)
  • Working full time on the venture
  • Currently raising capital, or will do so in the coming 6 months (10-150K USD)
  • Striving for future (international) expansion
  • High level of commitment (e.g. invested own resources and capital)
  • Ability to be a role model / leader in the women business community

Criteria for mentors/investors

  • Mentored women entrepreneurs before
  • Connected to Swiss EP through a Swiss EP partner organization
  • Highly committed and engaged and able to transfer knowledge back to the ecosystem
  • Successful in his/her work (e.g. has co-founded him/herself and/or substantially grown a company)
  • Can be female or male (who has mentored women-led startups)
  • Women applicants receive priority

Criteria for investors

  • Has invested in women-led startups (more is better)
  • Connected to Swiss EP through a Swiss EP partner organization
  • Active and involved in portfolio investments (i.e. through BoD seats, advisory role, mentoring, etc.)
  • Highly committed and engaged and able to transfer knowledge back to ecosystem
  • Personally involved in his/her work (i.e. has invested also personal funds and is not only investing for funds or other people’s money)
  • Can be female or male (who has already invested in women-led startups)
  • Women applicants receive priority

* List of Swiss EP VNM’s partners: Women’s Initiative for Startup & Entrepreneurship (WISE), Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF), Saigon High-tech Park – Incubation Center (SHTP-IC), Saigon Innovation Hub (SiHub), Information Technology Park – HCMC National University (ITP), Innovation Capital Management (ICM), Startup Viet, SME Mentors, DNES, Song Han Incubator (SHi), BKHoldings (BKH), Angel Invest Co. (AIC), Vic Partners (VIC), iAngel, KisStartup, Hatch!.

Swiss Entrepreneurship Program in a nutshell

Why: We aim at strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystems for startups, aspiring entrepreneurs and early stage companies to develop, grow and scale.
Where: We work in Vietnam, as well as Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Peru, and Serbia.
How: We promote relevant startup support organizations (incubators, accelerators, university innovation programs, angel networks etc.) and bring strategic guidance in improving business models and services to startups. The program further supports the establishment of business mentor pools, efforts to attract more angel investors, as well as encourage more media buzz around entrepreneurship.
Who: Financed by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland, implemented by Swisscontact and J.E. Austin Associates.

For more information and inquiry, please contact:
Ms. Dang Ngoc Dung, Program Officer, Vietnam: [email protected]

Swiss EP Vietnam page: https://www.facebook.com/SwissEP

 

Application for Swiss EP VN Women Entrepreneurs Week – 2019

Please complete the applicable application form (including 2 parts: a video clip and paper-based questions) if you are interested in participating in the Swiss EP NextGen Women Week and can commit your time to travel to Switzerland on the specified date. Attach your CV or resume to the application. Please complete in English to the best of your ability. Send to Swiss EP Vietnam at: [email protected] by Friday, November 2nd, 2018

FOR ALL APPLICANTS

Please send us a short video (1 minute, 2 minutes maximum) presenting you, your venture (or mentoring or investments) and answering the following questions:
a. Why should you be chosen for the next Women Entrepreneurs Week?
b. What do you bring (experience, skills) for sharing with other
participants?
Suggestion: Keep it simple. Video from your smart phone is perfect. Spend 15 seconds in introducing yourself and do a “twitter” pitch of your startup, and then 45 seconds on what you can bring to the event. Remember the event is in English, so video must be in English.

FOR ENTREPRENEURS

1. Name __________________________________________________________________
2. Company/project ______________________________ Title______________________
3. How long have you been with the company (as founder or CEO) (please specify period of full-time and/or part-time)? ________________________________________________
Are you currently full-time? y/n _______
4. Do you have a personal financial investment in the company? _______________________

In a few sentences, please share with us
5. Your aspiration in building your company/product:
6. Your major opportunities and challenges as a founder and particularly as a woman
founder:
7. Please provide a short description of your company/project and answers to the following questions:

  • Which market problem(s) do you try to address?
  • A quick glimpse of your company/project’s performance (sale, growth, number of employees and other milestones that you would like to share)
  • How do you envision your company/project to grow in the future?
  • Are you currently raising capital (preferred) and your funding plan for next 12 months?
  • Are you proficient in English (required)? y/n
  • Which Swiss EP partner are you affiliated with, or have worked with in the past?

FOR MENTORS

1. Name __________________________________________________________________
2. Company ______________________________________ Title_____________________
3. How long have you been a mentor? _________________________________________
4. The number of startup mentees that you have mentored, and please specify the numberof women entrepreneurs that you have mentored (required) and are currently mentoring _______________

In a few sentences, please share with us
5. Your definition of mentoring and what it takes to be a good mentor for women founded/led companies
6. In your view, major opportunities and challenges of a startup founder and particularly a woman founder in Vietnam
7. Please share with us a short story of a business that you have helped grow
8. Are you part of a group/network/organization that could serve as a platform to share some of the learnings/contacts/tips from this event within your local ecosystem (if yes, please provide specific names)
9. Are you proficient in English (required)? y/n
10. Which Swiss EP partner are you affiliated with, or have worked with in the past?

FOR INVESTORS

1. Name __________________________________________________________________
2. Company _______________________________________________________________
3. The number of companies that you have invested in (please specify current portfolio, number of exits, number of women founded/led companies) _____________________
4. Approximate amount that you have invested (please specify amount for women founded/led companies
______________________________________________________________

In a few sentences, please share with us
5. Your investment guideline/principle (sector, start-up stage, investment size, other criteria, etc.)
6. Other services/support that you provide to startup(s) in your portfolio
7. In your view, major opportunities and challenges of a startup founder and particularly a woman founder in Vietnam.
8. In your view, major opportunities and challenges of a woman investor in Vietnam
11. Are you part of a group/network/organization that could serve as a platform to share some of the learnings/contacts/tips from this event within your local ecosystem (if yes, please provide specific names)
12. Are you proficient in English (required)? y/n
13. Which Swiss EP partner are you affiliated with, or have worked with in the past?

 

Download full document: https://goo.gl/QzDwnw

Tags