Entrepreneurship often begins with a vision and the relentless drive to bring it to life. As many of us know though, bringing your vision to life is only the beginning of a successful journey. As a founder and entrepreneur, I’ve had the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of success. I’ve also had the opportunity to learn from failures, to pivot, test the waters, to rebound and grow. But it is often access to opportunities that can ultimately decide your fate.
Growing up in France, I could see the potential for entrepreneurship all around me, and today, the country remains a thriving center for investments. But without access to opportunities like education, technology, funding, or a network to fall back on, what would my journey have looked like?
Opportunity vs Luck
I want to distinguish opportunity from luck. Opportunity is made possible because of a pre-existing infrastructure – whether that be through school systems, financial systems or through community. Luck is often a circumstance of timing.
With a growing family of my own, this thought about what it takes to develop opportunities spurs my motivation to think about the next generation. Recognizing the ecosystems that helped me thrive requires that I invest in the same, no, better opportunities for those who come after me. And I am especially motivated to ensure these ecosystems are available for everyone, particularly in places where resources are severely limited.
Investing In The Future
This is why I’m so excited about joining Grameen Foundation’s Leadership Advisory Council and learning about their AccelHERate program, an innovative solution to building new pathways for young women. For decades, Grameen has been a leader in the microfinance sector. Initially focused on financial product development and financial inclusion programs for women, they have built pathways to ensure millions of people leave poverty forever. While this continues to be a cornerstone of their work, they are broadening their scope to include strengthening the ecosystem that surrounds women, to move beyond access and tackle the deeper systemic challenges that keep women and their families in poverty. With a long-term vision of change, AccelHERate expands this mission with a unique approach that starts with understanding household dynamics, followed by financial literacy training, connections to health services, and enables a network of support.
AccelHERate comes at a pivotal time when technology, including AI is skyrocketing opportunities but those opportunities are not equally distributed. We cannot risk losing a generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and visionaries because we are not investing in the opportunities they need.
Building A New Ecosystem
It can be difficult to imagine what building an ecosystem looks like and that is another reason I am excited about this program. AccelHERate focuses on four approaches to change:
1. Family Engagement:Through targeted household dialogue training, skills, and discussions, AccelHERate will ensure that all members of the family realize the importance of young women developing agency and decision making, ultimately leading to sustainable community change.
2. Access to Financial Services: Strategic and holistic connection to formal financial services is required to end the historic exclusion of young women from local economies. AccelHERate will partner with financial service providers and product creators to build new pathways, lower interest rates, and create equitable products and opportunities for young women, resulting in reframed perspectives on the role of gender in communities.
3. Entrepreneurship Training: AccelHERate will utilize Grameen’s long term financial literacy and entrepreneurship training to ensure that young women have the information, training, and business management skills that they need to succeed.
3. A Network of Support: Building a community of support is essential for the success of young women. AccelHERate will connect young women and their partners to appropriate health services and support household dialogues around health and household and family decision making.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that the best investments aren’t always in assets but in people. The most rewarding and transformative ventures lie in enabling those who have the potential to reshape our world. Today, there is no greater opportunity for shaping a brighter future than investing in young women.
To my fellow entrepreneurs: I ask you to remember that as we rise, we must also build. Together, we can build a better future by investing in the ecosystem of opportunity. It only takes $150 per young woman to equip her with the support she needs to reach her full potential. Grameen wants to reach at least 10,000 young women over the next 12 months, so I encourage you to join me in investing in the power of young women by supporting their efforts with a year-end donation.