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Brazil Means Business Symposium – A 360 Degree View of an Emerging Economy
AMSTERDAM – Joana Picq, COO of The NextWomen will be speaking at the first edition of the Brazil Means Business Symposium, that will take place March 29th 2010, in Holland, showcasing some of the fastest growing Brazilian companies in the IT and Bio/Pharma sectors. If you are based in Holland or in the area on the day, take advantage of a special discount which allows all our readers a 10% discount with the code: NW
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Brazil is a Great Place to Start a Business
Brazil has become an attractive market to do business in the last decade, according to the President of the Banco De Lage Landen, in the South of Brazil, Porto Alegre, Mr. Maarten Viskaal:
“Brazil is economically developing very well. Huge investments are planned for in infrastructure, energy and oil extraction. The middle-class is upcoming and pushing domestic demand for consumer goods and housing.”, and “more and more there will be a push into high-tech solutions”.
In Brazil, De Lage Landen provides vendor finance services to the agricultural, construction, healthcare, and technology sectors.
Mr. Viskaal, who has been based in the country for several years, and has witnessed the fast pace of transformation and greater economic stability, adds that the
“The scenario of Brazil diving into a deep economical crisis combined with hyper inflation and currency devaluation is something of the past. The country is economically well run and has a strong banking sector”.
Keen Interest in R&D Carried out by European Biotech Companies
There is keen interest from European entrepreneurs to export goods, biotech imagining equipment, and services to tap the huge consumers’ market that Brazil represents. And there is interest, from Brazilian companies, in biomedical R&D carried out by European biotech companies. Entrepreneurs, investors, market analysts, and technology startups interested in going to market, forming partnerships, and investing in Brazil will be attending the Brazil Means Business Symposium, to better understand how the emerging economy is poised for growth.
Brazilian Software Companies will Have a Huge Presence Read more
Entrepreneurial Technology Women in Italy
cc: flickr womentech
At the end of 2009 more than 1500 people attended and viewed online, the second ‘Women and Technologies 2008-2015′ conference, hosted by the Milano Chamber of Commerce. Men and women, all who work and live with a focus on skills, merit and diversity, came together as ‘bringers of a vision’ to make original contributions to technological innovation and societal development eliminating issues of gender.
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Girls on the continent continue to obtain excellent exam results across the board and yet although female involvement in ICT business remained static during the economic downtrun, there are still few women in permanent techno-scientific professions:
‘There are more than 31, 300 enterprises run by women in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in Italy. 3 out of 5 are in the Informatics sector, while 1 out of 5 is engaged in creating and/or repairing machines and equipment. Moreover, female businesses in ICT have been remaining in stable positions in the last year, in spite of the global economic crisis.’ Read more
The 49 Most Notable Female Internet Heroes of 2009
2009 has endured the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and yet female start-ups are growing in numbers as more of our lives are spent online. We have compiled our list of notable 2009 Female Internet Hero achievements. Far from exhaustive, if you feel you should be added to the list let us know as we will be adding to the list:
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The Digital Government Hero
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Martha Lane Fox is appointed the Government’s Digital Inclusion Champion
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The Launch Heroes
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Sarah Prevette launches SprouterWhich asks entrepreneurs the question “What are you working on?” |
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Paola de Leo and Co-Founder Colin Firth launch Brightwide
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Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist launches a professional social network for Generation Y
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Mr and Mrs Tom Harrow (Former Microsoft programmer) relaunches Findababysitter.com
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Deirdre Bounds launches Parties Around the World
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Sarah Beeny launches Tepilo
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Rajeeb Dey and Leah Magoye (Africa Representative) launches Enternships
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Michelle Dewberry launches Chiconomise
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Natasha Friis Saxberg launches Mentory
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Stephanie Phair and Net-A-Porter launch TheOutnet.com
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Michelle Gallen launches Talk Irisha social network for Irish language learners. |
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Anja Beerepoot launches Female FactorA network for women who like to share and show their talents |
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The Queen relaunches the Royal websitewith a Buckingham Palace reception and guests including Sir Tim-Berners Lee.
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Kim Mance of Galavanting launches travelblogexchangeA platform where travel bloggers can congregate, offer tips, advice and support to each other. |
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Shaa Wasmund launches SmartaA combination of Linkedin, Eventbrite and Meetup for UK entrepreneurs |
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Sophie Cox and brother Charlie launch WorldekaA social network with a conscience. |
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The Fundraising Heroes
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Dr Fran Crawford secures £500k investment from the Aspire Fund for Altacor
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Polly Gowers secures £350k investment from the Aspire Fund for Everyclick
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Gina Bianchini and Ning raise $15m and named as one of Fastcompanys 20 Most Influential Women in Tech
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Marina Tognetti and Myngle secure €950,000 fundingThe online platform linking teachers and people achieves government backed funding totally almost €1m |
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Jana Eggers and Spreadshirt Announce €10 million investmentfrom Accel and Kennet Partners.
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Alicia Navarro and Skimlinks raises two rounds of fundingLed by Sussex Place Ventures, the first round was believed to be in the region of £700k and the second £900,000c |
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Lesley Eccles of Hubdub achieves £810, 000 in fundingfrom Pentech Ventures, Scottish Co-Investment Fund and additional Angel Investors.
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The Career Heroes Read more
Tech-Savvy Women Play a Large Part in LeWeb 2009
LeWeb 2009 was yet another interesting web event, gathering a very international crowd of over 2,000 people, from which just over 350 were women. The location was exquisite, the heating system was working and although the food was far from the quality you’d expect in France, there was plenty of it for everyone.
The NextWomen Meetup Read more
Female Ambassador, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah Speaks at LeWeb 2009
This week saw LeWeb 2009, in which men and women from across the web addressed almost 2000 attendees in Paris.
One of the first keynotes came from Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdulla who ‘through social media has found a way to champion education and the right of every child around the world to go to school’. Introduced as the World’s most tech-savvy Queen, the enigmatic Queen Rania started her speech by promising the remainder would be in ‘140 character sound bites or less’. Her talk broached social media, its impact on people’s lives and the world as a whole, touching on the future following of inanimate objects on Twitter – think your local airport or train station, although Queen Rania was also very interested in knowing when her fridge had run out of chocolate. Her thoughts on the internet are incredibly visionary and yet intensely personal. As a Queen the internet, and in particular Social Media, has opened up her life, helping to demystify the myths of what she does.
Here, you can see the full address in which she states: ’souls will get an IP address’ and ponders the ability of the realtime web to bring about real world change.
Keynotes from other female figure heads included: Read more
The NextWomen Invite Female Entrepreneurs to Dine with Facebook
As Christmas draws closer, The NextWomen are excited to announce their latest Kitchen Dinner – Dine with Facebook – in which Tracy Yaverbaun, Head of the pan-European and international sales team for Facebook EMEA will give a keynote. If you have ever wanted to understand the long road Facebook has followed to make money, now is the time to find out.
To get you into the mood of The NextWomen Kitchen Dinners, check out the video from our last event which Chloe Nicholls of Newspepper ran for us:
Tracy Yaverbaun and Facebook
Tracy Yaverbaun
Tracy Yaverbaun joined Facebook in January 2008 and now runs the pan-European and international sales team for Facebook EMEA.
Her team’s job is to help major advertisers and brands with global digital strategies and implements these strategies not only on a local but also on an international scale.
The international sales team helps brands connect with and become part of the conversation with users on Facebook in a meaningful way that rewards both the user and the brand. The team also consults and advises brands on their social media and Facebook strategy, and provides cost efficiencies for brands wishing to work in a central manner, while providing local market support among the Facebook network.
Major Achievements
Major achievements so far include the Adidas Global Partnerships, the 20th Century Fox first international engagement campaign and the iTunes Europe live festival on Facebook.
Tracy joined Facebook in January 2008 as Client Solutions Manager for the UK. This became an international role in late 2008, after which she went on to start the pan-European team in January 2009.
Prior to Facebook
Prior to Facebook, Tracy worked for AOL Time Warner for three years, from January 2005 to December 2007, as Client Services Manager on the Entertainment and CPG categories. In March 2007, she moved into a commercial development role, monetising AOL products and services for brands and advertisers.
She has a BA in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and a Graduate Diploma in Marketing (IMI).
Is Deauville the Next Davos? Conclusions of The Women’s Forum
Many panels and debates at WF
Last weekend, more than 1000 thought leaders came together to discuss the Economy and Society from a female perspective. Unlike the Davos Global Forum, in Deauville powerful women are in the majority at the fifth international Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society. Its motto is:
“Think again, think ahead! It is time for action, change and hope”.
There were many international speakers unveiling their ideas on politics, entrepreneurship, economics; a lot of the time about the effects of the financial crisis, but also on the chances and opportunities that it brings. Among the speakers – 17 Rising Talents of 2009 - was Founder of Smarta, Shaa Wasmund.
Some conclusions from the forum were:
Women are Hit Hard by the Financial Crisis
It may be that women-led hedge funds have performed better in the financial crisis than hedge funds run by men – as was one of the conclusions of a Report launched at the Women’s Forum - and yet women and girls in poor countries have been hit the hardest by the implosion of banks thousands of miles away.
The developed world has received far more funding to combat the crisis, in comparison to that received by the worlds poorest countries. As a result, women now need similarly large-scale solutions, including access to capital and to larger markets, to combat the crisis.
Founder of WF: Aude Zieseniss de Thuin
“The ground has shifted beneath the feet of our business models and social and economic policies”, explains Founder and CEO Aude Zieseniss de Thuin. “The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society views moments of rupture like this as an opportunity to advance new ideas, technologies and even paradigms for society and the economy. With their male counterparts, women have a key role to play in the process of creating a more resilient future,” the Founder of the Women’s Forum said.
Empowering Women makes Financial Sense
Discussed at great length, was the idea that empowering women economically is not just a matter of fairness, but of financial sense. Read more
Start-up Interview: InfinCubator Provides Online Incubation for Women in Tech
The internet is awash with companies that provide business advice to start-ups, but no online incubator appears to target women led businesses, specifically online and throughout the first three years of a sites existence. Here pitch-preneur at our recent Darwinian Business event, Egle Karalyte, founder of InfinCubator (an online incubator aimed at women), talks to The NextWomen about a life-time of entrepreneurial spirit, the need for an online one-stop shop and how the business will look in a years time.
Egle Karalyte of InfinCubator
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
This is always really difficult, but let me try…
I am originally from Lithuania – a small country near the Baltic Sea. I left 10 years ago with a dream to see the world and I’ve been fortunate to have been given the opportunities to do so. Over the last 10 years I have studied Computer Science in Massachusetts (USA) & Dublin; worked in corporations and with start-ups in NYC and London, and travelled to the South and Far East. A need for freedom and adventure seems to have always been with me.
Because of personal reasons, I recently moved back to Europe and have settled in Paris. Since running my own business has always been dream of mine, a year ago I used this change of course to start my own e-business boutique consultancy – InfinVision. For the last year I’ve been helping companies to strategically integrate & leverage web 2.0 concepts, strategies and technologies. The web has been my passion since I was 16 years old, and so it seemed like a natural progression. I now juggle my time between London and Paris.
Can you explain InfinCubator and how you came up with the idea?
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Since starting InfinVision I have networked like crazy – my first few clients were start-ups and consultants with small budgets. I’ve also met quite a few women with dreams to have their own businesses, but who had huge fears to just go and do it.
I’ve noticed that fear, a lack of knowledge about the web and budget constraints to hire consultancies or good web agencies, were the common obstacles between them and their dream. When you are jumping into a business without previous experience, getting web designers in India looks like a good idea – only $100 – but you don’t realise that a bad web presence can seriously damage your brand, which later on is extremely difficult to fix.
I therefore wanted to help these women implement their dreams successfully, and so I came up with the idea for a web-based service that would give them everything they needed to jump-start properly: good professional advice; a do-it-yourself web platform; the correct people to do the job; a community for support, and all for an affordable price. In other words, a consolidated platform of the knowledge I was selling to bigger companies.
How are you different from other online incubators? Read more
Web Tools Doodle heals Glastonbury Admin Headaches
 Willow Woman - Glastonbury 2008 The UK’s summer of music 2009 kicks off to a brilliant start with Glastonbury this week, headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Blur. It may even be sunny, for the first time in a few years. Gigs and other music events help to bring friends together. People meet from all ends of the country and travel great distances to see their favourite bands. While the experience is always positive in the end, sometimes the pain of getting large groups together can dampen spirits. However, Doodle – the easy online scheduling tool – can take the angst out of gig meetups for an epic summer of music. |
Michael Naef, CEO at Doodle, explains further:
“For music fans, discovering when people are free to attend a gig together, or when to meet up during Glastonbury, can cramp even the most free spirits. It typically involves emailing each other or sending around events details on Facebook, then calling people to confirm. It can be notoriously easy to miss your friends at Glastonbury.”
Doodle Screenshot
“On the other hand Doodle plans meetups in seconds, by simply going to doodle.com and putting in your date/time options for your gig meetups, and sending the unique URL to your event around to friends. They simply tick the time they’re free and you have a date. Our site is extremely lean, so it loads just as easily on your phone as your PC. Music fans need spontaneous, mobile tools at gigs,” Naef said.
Doodle has 3 million unique users around the world, with people scheduling meetups for work events, business meetings, and a myriad of personal meetings ranging from going to the movies, stag and hen do’s, to music and theatre events. Doodle is a completely free tool that can be accessed wherever the internet and mobile reception is – even from the muddy fields of Glastonbury.
“We hope all UK Doodle users can embrace the summer of music and put admin headaches to rest with our free tool,” concluded Naef. “Glastonbury’s famous healing grounds are about making life simpler and sweeter, and many new web tools have the same objective. Music and tech can indeed make a great marriage.”
For more information about Doodle, the web’s easiest scheduling tool, visit doodle.com.
Start-up: Emily Jacometti of Dutch Gaming Site, Flavour
Emily Jacometti is part of the uber-cool Dutch gaming site, Flavour. The site is so much fun that even if you don’t speak Dutch, it’s still worth a play. Here, Emily talks to The NextWomen about the business – now and in the future – and the hurdles herself and co-founders, Tim Numan and Jain van Nigtevegt, have had to overcome.
Emily Jacometti, Tim Numan and Jain van Nigtevegt
How did the founders come up with the idea of your start-up?
We were all working for different companies at the time, and decided that it would be more effective to join forces and start a new company which would be able to offer clients the complete package. What makes Flavour unique is that we are involved from concept right through to the end result.
What is your best product?
Our best product is our latest advergame for a well-known brand. Flavour created a concept which reflects the core values of the client and promotes specific products. Because players play a game they are actively involved with ones brand, and as a marketing tool it proves more effective than traditional media. We are especially proud of this particular game because it is actively integrated in a cross-media national campaign. Flavour also provided other media, such as banners to ensure high exposure for the game.
When did you become involved and why? Do you have any equity in the business?
Personally I (officially) became involved in Flavour a year ago – before that I was involved purely behind the scenes. I became involved because up to that point, although there was a creative person and a technical person, there was no-one dealing with the commercial aspects of the business. Flavour approached me for this position, and I accepted. To become an owner I contributed the same amount as the initial investment by the other owners.
What is your role?
I am the commercial Director at Flavour. My responsibilities, among others, include: acquisitions, organisation, administrative duties, office management and contact with the clients.
Who is in the team?
Flavour currently has 4 artists and 3 programmers, a financial aid, a board of advisors – consisting of an accountant, a communication specialist, a businessman and a teacher at the high school of Amsterdam – and a commercial person. We also work with freelancers on several projects and are currently looking for another programmer, several commercial people and interns to join and expand our team. Read more
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