After the theoretical section, some real cases are explained below with the aim of going deeper into the outlined topics.
“La Caperuza” project and “Como una cabra” community
La Caperuza is a rural entrepreneurship project carried out by 2 women: Concha and Laura. These two women left their jobs and their paths crossed in Bustarviejo, where they began a risky adventure together.
Their project is based on two traditional trades: sustainable stockbreeding and cheese factory. They share the same core values which are animal’s welfare, environmental sustainability and people’s wellbeing. They want to give value to women’s work in the countryside and particularly as entrepreneurs.
Although there were many factors that hindered the success of their project, they finally achieved their goals and now their products are known and recognized in many places.
If you are interested in this case, you will find below more information about the history and the business of Concha and Laura:
- The history of La Caperuza project (subtitles in English): youtube.com/watch?v=_b1qMR0Hn3U
- Web page: lacaperuza.com
- Social networks:
- Facebook: facebook.com/LaCaperuzaBustarviejo/?ref=page_internal
- Instagram: instagram.com/la._caperuza/
But, why have we selected the history of Concha and Laura? Besides their initiative, their case is chosen because they are a clear example of the importance of having the support of a community.
Currently, Laura is ambassador of Como una Cabra, an online community created to support women seeking entrepreneurship in the rural world. It is well known that entrepreneurship in rural areas can be complicated and, for this reason, this community provides:
- A space to meet people that are already in rural areas.
- A place to share your experiences with other similar businesses over Spain.
- Working groups to help you achieve your goals.
- Information and resources that may be interesting for you.
- Practical tips to start your business.
The Como una Cabra community is made up of a wide variety of participants: entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship technical staff, businesses of rural areas, entities in charge of promoting rural areas and service and products providers (among others).
The technical staff of this community offers different services in order to meet all the needs that women entrepreneurs may have: training courses, additional information (podcasts, posts, blogs, activities or webinars), mentoring, consultancy services, individual or collective support, etc.
In short, it is an online platform that helps women such as Laura and Concha to achieve their dreams and supports to start their sustainable businesses in rural areas. But they do not only support women who want to become entrepreneurs, it is also a network that supports and offers visibility to established businesses too.
If you want to know more about this community, please check the following additional information:
- Presentation video of Como una Cabra (subtitles in English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLR-bjkIhlA
- Presentation video of Laura in Como una Cabra (subtitles in English): youtube.com/watch?v=6RSVy0LmjiI
- Web: cabrasenred.es
- Social networks:
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/cabrasenred/posts/?feedView=all
- Instagram: instagram.com/cabrasenred
- YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCsEjjzurUMtvKUxiOZSJerw/featured?view_as=subscriber
- Facebook: facebook.com/Cabrasenred
- Twitter: twitter.com/cabrasenred
- Different Spotify podcasts about entrepreneurship (in Spanish): www.open.spotify.com/show/3zmPFS0q1aqWHhf1RWEOMJ
MeXOXO
A non-profit organization that internationally supports the socio-economic development of women
Elpida Kokkota decided to make her vision a reality and create an organization that will empower, educate and enable women to develop sustainable business.
Inspired by Nobel laureate’s mentor Mohamed Younis, she started the nonprofit MeXOXO in 2013 and two years later formally committed to the Clinton Foundation to empower 5.000 women by 2020.
Through MeXOXO, 5.365 women have been empowered in 16 countries, of which 3.000 are in Greece. With the help of Ms. Kokkota and her team, women’s cooperatives and companies managed to get on their feet and take their first business step.
The action of MeXOXO has been distinguished many times, with the latest success being the honorary candidacy in Unesco for the education of girls and women. Her journey began in 2009 from Boston when she left Greece to pursue a master’s degree there without even speaking good English. At the urging of her mentor Mohamed Younis, who encouraged her to pursue her dream, she left her well-paid job in Boston and traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, where she lived for a year and a half.
A typical example of the action of MeXOXO is the story of Dina Lagiou. She maintains a restaurant in the last village of Orini Nafpaktia, in Grammeni Oxia. Her collaboration with the organization began when Ms. Kokkota had visited her restaurant by chance. Within 3 to 4 years, Ms. Lagiou has achieved her goals, has developed her business and has acquired knowledge about entrepreneurship. In fact, as she says, for the first time after 42 years she managed to organize a wedding and a baptism in the village, giving life to an entire place.
Another success story is the one of Mrs Diana Voutyrakou, who made her dream come true and created a non-profit organization, called “Unique Minds”, that emphasizes on helping high school students choosing the right path for their studies. She and her team of experts has managed to inform more than 20.000 students with academic orientation and more that 40 live events were organized in order for students to understand the differences between the faculties, the specialties and the future perspectives of each profession.
If you want to find out more about Unique Minds, you can visit the links bellow:
- Website: uniqueminds.gr
- Social networks:
- YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC_PRRmTSz04wnX0qyYka2Jg/featured
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/unique-minds?trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CentityType%3AentityHistoryName%2CclickedEntityId%3Acompany_company_company_company_17910064%2Cidx%3A1
- Facebook: facebook.com/UniqueMindsGR/?fref=ts
These two successful women from Greece, and thousands more from around the globe were empowered and supported by the MeXOXO Community.
Here is some more facts about it:
- Women who enter the program receive empowerment-coaching through a 5 step framework, helping women to overcome their fears in personal and professional life and discover their inner strength which later on becomes the drive for them to thrive.
- They educate women on the latest business trends and strategies through partnerships they have developed around the world. Their methods include online and offline personalized approaches, interactive and gender-specific methodology.
- MeXOXO connects women with their global network of 250 partnerships and 7000 mentors which results in tremendous opportunities for them.
Find out more in the links bellow:
- Website: mexoxo.com
- Social networks:
- Facebook: facebook.com/Mexoxoorg
- Instagram: instagram.com/mexoxoorg/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mexoxo
