ABOUT THE PROGRAM
“Female Founders Across Borders” is a joint program of Riga Tech Girls (Latvia) and Tech4Impact NGO (Uzbekistan), financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Latvia).
Our goal is to promote the creation and development of technology companies founded and run by women in Latvia and Uzbekistan, ensuring female founders with the training, mentoring and experience exchange.
For female founders
WHAT YOU WILL GET:
- 25 hours of workshops from industry experts (on such topics as business models, startup cycle, design thinking, metrics, customer acquisition, sales, pitching, investors readiness, personal development and leadership skills);
- individual 2-months mentoring support from experienced mentors, to help you grow (each participant will have 12 individual sessions with mentors);
- community, networking and collaborating with fellow women founders in a supportive atmosphere;
- PR support, as we will promote you and other founders as role models of women in business and showcase new technology startups, created by our participants;
- and last but not the least, finalists of the program will visit Latvia and Uzbekistan respectively, for a business exchange trip, with all expenses covered.
You will grow your startup, acquire new skills and experience, in person, the local startup ecosystem in Latvia and Uzbekistan. That’s a great opportunity for possible business cooperation between you and other founders and mentors!
Thinking about applying? Here is our SELECTION CRITERIA for founders:
Female entrepreneurs (founders or co-founders of a business)
No age limits
Business English knowledge (most of the online classes will be in English)
You already have a startup idea / working business in IT, or the business in other spheres, that is in need of IT solution and digitalization
Ability to participate in weekly online / in-person group sessions, with time commitment 5+ hours a week
Computer literacy and access to computer / smartphone for online sessions
For mentors
We are looking for MENTORS, too! Want to become a mentor in the "Female Founders Across Borders" program?
Our mentors are experienced entrepreneurs ready to share their expertise, time and network with female founders from Latvia and Uzbekistan, selected for this program. Mentors’ time will be compensated.
You will be matched with 1-2 program participants based on your expertise. Together with your mentee(s), you will schedule and run at least 12 individual mentoring sessions.
Our SELECTION CRITERIA for mentors:
At least 3 years of business experience
Ability to participate in a 2-days online training sessions for mentors (end of November)
Time commitment in January-March 2023, of 8 hours per month on each mentee (including online or in-person meetings with mentees, preparation for the mentoring sessions and online check-in sessions with organizers and other mentors
Willingness to share experience and support female founders with advice, expertise and constructive feedback
Fluency in English (all online workshops will be in English)
TIMELINE
October 27- November 15, 2022: applications are opened
November 15-21: selection committee scans the applications and we will choose 15 participants from both countries
November 24 – December 20, 2022: online workshops for selected participants (4-5 hours a week)
January-March 2023: dedicated mentoring support and mentoring sessions for women founders
April 2023: selection of the program finalists (5 participants from each country, with the best achievements)
April-May 2023: Exchange visits (finalists from Latvia visit their colleagues in Uzbekistan and the finalists from Uzbekistan visit Latvia)
ORGANIZERS
PARTNERS
The project received development cooperation financing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia in 2022.