With the aim of providing women tourism workers in the Dominican Republic with the knowledge and tools necessary to generate ideas with business potential, the workshop “Women Entrepreneurs Impacting Dominican Tourism” was held with great success.
The event is part of the Primer Plano project, organized by the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic (MITUR) with the support of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The workshop was attended by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader and the Minister of Tourism, David Collado. The President urged the entrepreneurs not to give up on their dreams, while assuring them that the Government will not only provide them with technical support, but will also provide them with financial backing.
This workshop, which was held taking into consideration all the difficulties that women face in the sector, was attended by Jacqueline Mora Báez, technical vice-minister of the Ministry of Tourism.
The official expressed her admiration and respect for the work done by women entrepreneurs and affirmed that from now on they will have in her an ally who believes in their projects. “I admire their focus and dedication; I wish them success, but remember to always keep in mind the purpose for which they have developed their entrepreneurship, sometimes we have it, but we start without a clear conscience; however, when we have a defined objective we can have more energy to follow what we have undertaken”, added Mora Báez.
Marina Diotallevi, UNWTO’s Director of Ethics, Culture and Social Responsibility, stated that the main objective of this workshop is to reinforce women’s leadership in tourism and emphasized the knowledge acquired during the workshop.
Diotallevi reinforced the key messages delivered during the event and summarized them as follows: “entrepreneurship in the formal economy will ensure the banking sustainability of your business; financing is the second most important factor in any project; networking is a vital tool to feed back into the business and make it grow; and last but not least, marketing requires innovation and its success will depend on the strength of the three previous points”, while congratulating them and wishing them success in each of their projects.
The speakers at the event were Shaina Alonzo, creator and designer of the Ozeano Swimwear swimwear line; Yadixa Álvarez, from the We Are Great Locals project, who spoke about the importance of networking; Daniela Moreno Alarcón, who spoke about the role of women entrepreneurs in tourism in the Dominican Republic; Soraya Rodríguez Peña, who spoke about practical ideas for effective business financing, and Nelfi García, who spoke about the situation and keys to support women entrepreneurs in the informal sector of tourism.
This edition was also carried out with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and UN Women.
