BPW International

BPW Empowering Entrepreneurs…
Every day of the week, all over the world, Governments at all levels, and businesses and companies of all sizes buy products and services. They buy products to manufacture new products for sale; they buy products to use in their offices and factories; they buy services to assist them in carrying on with their own businesses. The global economy exists through a complex network of supply chains… each business created to service the need of another business, or to provide products and services direct to consumers. That is fact.

BPW International is working alongside the International Trade Centre to increase the participation of women in these global supply chains.  One of the most immediate and realistic ways that we can do that is to have our members actively involved in and supporting the Global Platform for Action on Sourcing from Women Vendors and its ‘realtime’ counterpart, the Women Vendors Exhibition and Forum (WVEF).

WVEF is a forum where women-owned businesses (WoBs) are provided direct contact with the procuring entities of major corporations (and soon hopefully governments as well!) with the ability to secure real contracts and/or gain further knowledge about the needs of these corporate buyers and how to better do business with them. At the inaugural WVEF, over USD $14Million in contracts were signed.. showing that real business is being done.

The next WVEF is to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in the latter part of 2012. We are currently calling for all potential participants to complete the 2012 Member’s Survey.. to let the ITC know which industry sectors women own businesses. Once they know which sectors to focus on, ITC can work to bring relevant buyers and sellers together, to do business in the here and now!

We encourage all our members (particularly women entrepreneurs) to complete this survey to let ITC know which industry sectors to focus on at the next WVEF.

We then encourage you to register so that you too can attend the next WVEF in Jakarta in 2012 – I look forward to seeing you there!

Freda Miriklis
BPW International President