Eller’s Entrepreneurship Project in Sonora Featured in Arizona Daily Star

A March 17 article in the Arizona Daily Star featured the Eller College of Management’s McGuire Mexico Scholars program, an eight-week workshop series in Nogales, Sonora, focused on empowering female entrepreneurs in Northern Mexico.

The program, led by Carlos Alsua, senior lecturer of international management and global entrepreneurship at Eller’s McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, is a joint effort between the McGuire Center and the U.S. Consulate in Nogales, Sonora.

Out of an impressive 450 applications, 35 women were ultimately chosen as the inaugural class.

“The women come from Yuma to Agua Prieta. Some take a bus the night before so they can be in Nogales for Saturday classes,” says Alsua.

The article features participant Dayana Martinez, who has always dreamed of becoming a business owner and who wants to develop an event-planning business.

“To start, I plan to focus on children’s parties, but as I get more experience, I’d love to expand into planning weddings and quinceañeras,” says Martinez.

The program aligns with the U.N. Women Economic Empowerment program, an initiative designed to increase the number of women in the workforce around the globe to boost economic development and ease the need for economic migration.

Once the eight-week course is over, the inaugural group will be expected to mentor future participants, as a way to further expand the benefits of the program.