Welcoming Applications for the Next Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Cohort

On International Women’s Day, AIT Public Diplomacy Section Chief Diane Sovereign joined Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Small and Medium Enterprise Administration Director General Ho Chin-Tsang at the Social Innovation Lab in Taipei to announce the call for applications for the 2022 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program in Taiwan.  Also in attendance were Sonia Leung from AWE’s Strategic Partner Meta, and AWE’s Global Trend Partners Microsoft Taiwan, represented by Vincent Shih, and Amazon Global Selling, represented by Amanda Chen.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) established the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in 2019 to provide women entrepreneurs the knowledge, networks, and access needed to launch or scale their business.  Implemented in more than 80 countries since 2019, AWE has helped more than 16,000 women entrepreneurs around the world grow their businesses and adapt to new economic realities under COVID-19.

AIT first implemented AWE in Taiwan in 2021 in partnership with Taiwan’s MOEA and Meta (previously Facebook).  This year’s AWE Taiwan will continue to partner with MOEA and Meta to recruit and provide training for 90 early-stage women entrepreneurs across Taiwan.  During the five-month training, participants will complete 13 online DreamBuilder modules, attend hybrid online and in-person learning sessions, and meet with senior women entrepreneurs and mentors to learn core business skills including digital marketing and fund raising.  The Meta-sponsored capstone pitch competition is the only one of its kind in Taiwan for women and is conducted fully in English.  Winners of the pitch competition will receive prizes of over $160,000 NTD.

Three U.S. tech companies – Meta, Microsoft Taiwan, and Amazon Global Selling – have also joined AWE as Global Trend Partners to provide key information about the metaverse, global emission reductions, and cross border e-commerce.  This year’s program is specifically geared towards women entrepreneurs from the technology sector, with a focus on clean energy, biotech, and fintech.

For more about AWE Taiwan or to apply for the program, visit: https://pse.is/3zjqzz or the AWE Facebook page.

〔Original: American Institute in Taiwan 〕
https://www.ait.org.tw/welcoming-applications-for-awe-cohort/