Archive for the ‘Global Cohort’ Category

Food tastes better for Visceta Meredith when the vegetables come from her own garden. The same principle applies when her income comes from the landscaping business she runs with her husband. “I always value something I have done myself,” she said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. “There are just lots of things I have learned within the two weeks,” Meredith said. “The most important thing is I am creating relationships. We’re all from all over the world, different parts of the world, but we seem to share the same difficulties we go through in business, and we share the same success at times.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Jobs were scarce when Jenny Lee finished college and returned to her native Malaysia. So the information technology professional decided to start her own company in 1998. “A few of my friends came to me and asked how to do certain things, and they asked for computer courses,” Lee said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. “I love teaching, so I thought, ‘Yeah, I love teaching. Why don’t I have my own computer training center.’” Lee said one challenge has been balancing the needs of her family with the needs of her company. “During my working hours I just concentrate on working,” she said. “And after work I try not to think about my work. I try to balance my life.” She said the Global Cohort has taught her important skills in negotiation, strategy and marketing. Overall, the women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. “I have learned a lot,” she said. Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Kiribati entrepreneur Tietie Cati reads books by and about successful businesswomen whenever she gets the chance. So she relished the opportunity to dine Jan. 29, 2012, at the home of bestselling author Sharon Lechtor, whose works include “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” “Three Feet from Gold” and other titles. “I really admire successful women in the world who have their own businesses, helping people,” Cati said during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors and guest lecturers such as Lechtor. Cati started her own journey as an entrepreneur in 2009, when she launched a wholesale food company that imports products to her South Pacific nation from overseas markets such as Australia and New Zealand. “I am really strong against the idea that I cannot make it,” Cati said. “I am a woman, and I can make it.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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As a child growing up in Uzbekistan, Gulnoza Kenjaeva admired the beautiful handicrafts that her mother made. “I followed her and was very interested in working with her,” Kenjaeva said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. Kenjaeva said the collapse of the former Soviet Union gave her opportunities that her mother never had. “It’s a great thing that we gained independence in 1991,” she said. “We stepped into a market economy.” Kenjaeva started by making handicrafts for her friends and then expanded her business as demand grew. “Being an entrepreneur is a great opportunity,” she said. “I can help other people by earning money and sharing what I have.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Tajikistan is a tiny landlocked country easily lost in the shadow of China, its massive neighbor to the east. This creates market challenges for Nigina Boboeva, who sells high-end cosmetics from a small shop in her native Tajikistan. “Competition from China creates challenges,” Boboeva said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. “My products are higher quality but also more expensive.” Boboeva participated in the Global Cohort to learn sustainable business strategies to help her compete. Overall, the women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. “I needed this program here,” Boboeva said. “I deepened my knowledge, I have mentorship by professors, and I have networking by participants from nine other countries.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Social entrepreneur Zhen Cui Zen loves watching young participants come alive in the team building projects she organizes through her nonprofit organization in Malaysia. “When a project finishes, you can see all the young people who were quiet and passive emerge with new confidence,” she said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. Cui Zen said the Global Cohort’s investment in women will pay dividends throughout the world. “Women, at the end of the day, they will share,” she said. “By investing in women, the impact grows bigger. When you plant a seed there, it will flower.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Natural resources abound in Indonesia, but too often these raw materials leave the country without being converted into usable products. Entrepreneur Laila Asri decided to something about this in 2007, when she launched a body care company that manufactures lotions, creams and other products using local ingredients. “If we can make something valuable from this raw material, it will bring good impact for farmers, communities, societies and of course the economy of Indonesia,” Asri said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. Like many of the women in the program, Asri must struggle to balance her roles as a wife, mother and entrepreneur. “I have to give a lot of attention to making my family happy and also my business happy.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Critics in Kyrgyzstan are still waiting for Bibinura Batyrbekova to fail. “Kyrgyzstan is a Muslim country, and it is not usual when women start their own businesses, and they are at the same level as men,” Batyrbekova said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. “All my competitors are men, and they were skeptical of my success.” Despite the opposition, Batyrbekova has sustained a travel employment company that sends young workers to the United States for summer internships. “We open the doors for the students, for young people,” Batyrbekova said. She said the Global Cohort does the same thing for her. “I’m sending students to the United States, but I’ve never been here,” she said. “So during these two weeks I got a lot of knowledge.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Growing up in the former Soviet Union, Alyona Galimova had few entrepreneurship role models. “There were no family businesses. We could only work for the government,” Galimova said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to campus for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. Despite the lack of training and mentoring in Uzebekistan, Galimova joined a family business with her father when she was 17. Since then the furniture manufacturing company has grown 200 percent. Galimova said the Global Cohort at Thunderbird will help her continue the trend. “We are from different cultures,” she said. “We are from 10 countries from all over the world, but we all have one road: To do the best for our business, to do the best for our country.” Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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Customers tend to look past Tanya Edwards when they visit her memorial headstone workshop in Tonga. “People often come into my office and they look at me, and they wonder where the boss is,” Edwards said Feb. 2, 2012, during the U.S. Department of State and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Partnership Global Cohort at Thunderbird School of Global Management. The women’s empowerment program brought 28 businesswomen from 10 countries to Arizona for a two-week management course taught by Thunderbird professors. Edwards has sustained her business for 15 years, but said she is always looking for new ways to grow her business. “There’s nothing like being able to sustain yourself and look after your own family and work your own hours,” she said. Watch her story in this Thunderbird Knowledge Network video, or visit the Thunderbird for Good blog to learn more.
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