The initiative selected in its first edition more than 100 community leaders from more than 6 thousand applications

Marina Ponzi, founder of LadiesBrunch and expert in communication and digital gastronomic marketing, was the only Argentine woman selected to participate in the first edition of the Community Leadership Program of Facebook.

Leer en español: Marina Ponzi: única argentina en el Programa de Liderazgo Comunitario de Facebook

According to the newspaper iProfesional, this program is a global initiative in which Facebook will invest up to 10 million dollars in the people who create, build and lead communities. The initiative selected in its first edition more than 100 community leaders from more than 6 thousand applications.

"When I created the community in 2009 I was in a moment of exploration. I had always been interested in the idea of ​​being able to start and own my own business, my times and decisions. However, I found myself very alone in that process. I did not know many entrepreneurs around me, and fewer women", Marina told Entremujeres.

"I created a blog, a Facebook page and started generating brunch and networking meetings in different restaurants in Buenos Aires so that professional and entrepreneurial women could get to know each other, get motivated and lean on the arduous but beautiful path that entrepreneurship means", added the businesswoman Argentina.

According to the newspaper El Clarín, Ponzi will travel this month along with 114 other people from 46 countries, from more than 6,000 applicants, to Silicon Valley for training. The winners will receive up to $ 50,000 each and will be offered mentoring in their ventures.

According to the Observatory of Entrepreneurs of the city of Buenos Aires, 52% of the entrepreneurs are men and the remaining 48% are women. The newspaper La Nación explains that, although the numbers seem fairly even, the male presence in networking events wins by far and technological projects are the most accepted.

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"I do find differences between being a man and being a woman. As a woman, it happened many times that going to meetings with men or to have to ask to negotiate contracts, etc., I felt as if I were not taken IGNORE INTO account in many cases", Marina told Mundo TKM. She added: “also in situations where the man with whom I had to be having a business meeting was starting to throw me unfounded comments. I have gone through situations that I imagine a man should not go through".

This scenario opened the doors to Ponzi to create an exclusive space for women. Once a month, women of all ages gather around a brunch to talk about their projects.

The network has 6500 women; per meeting, they meet up to 30 so that everyone can tell their idea and can create important contacts. In addition, the closing of events is usually accompanied by an inspiring talk and personal improvement.

"Seeing the impact that LadiesBrunch has generated, not only in me, but in the thousands of women who are part of the group, excites me every day. I am grateful for this recognition, which will be an impulse to extend this network of women to more countries in Latin America, where women entrepreneurs are already leading the change and economic growth", says Ponzi on the official page of Ladies Brunch.

LatinAmerican Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez
Translated from “Marina Ponzi: única argentina en el Programa de Liderazgo Comunitario de Facebook”

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