Women entrepreneurs, those driving forces of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the 2020s, represent a potent, if undervalued, engine of global economic growth, innovation, and job creation. By 2023, women owned a respectable 23% of SMEs worldwide—a statistic that, while encouraging, simultaneously indicts the lingering inequities of our times.
Despite empirical evidence that women-led businesses routinely outperform their male-led counterparts in returns on investment, society’s entrenched biases against female entrepreneurship persists, unfortunately. As an example, there is the shameful shortfall of venture capital allocated to female-only founding teams—a mere 2.1% in 2022. This disparity not only reflects systemic barriers for women but also highlights the urgent necessity of leveling a playing field to encourage progress for women entrepreneurs.
Into this gap of inequity steps the Council of Women Entrepreneurs (CMEC), an organization that dares to confront these inequities head-on. Under the stewardship of its formidable president, Ana Claudia Badra Cotait, CMEC has become a bastion of empowerment, championing women in business and even those engaged in the grueling, often overlooked labor of recyclable material collection. And for Badra Cotait, her position with CMEC is very much a personal mission. As a Brazilian woman of Lebanese heritage, Badra Cotait’s goals to impact women in business stems from of fusion of her own cultural legacy and personal ambition. From her family, she inherited a deftness for communication and an intrinsic passion for politics—tools she wielded with precision in her ascent through the entrepreneurial world. Having sharpened her skills in Brazil’s Federal Senate, a veritable crucible of life lessons, and later as director of Revista FOCO, she revealed her unmistakable purpose: to bolster the presence of women and small business into the backbone of Brazil’s economy. Her family, including her son Diego, a celebrated chef, and her granddaughter Stella, remains the core of her strength, providing the stability from which she launches her relentless pursuits.
In 2019, she took the helm of the Women Entrepreneurs and Culture Council (CMEC), transforming it into a formidable platform for progress. True to form, she expanded its reach, weaving culture into its fabric and proliferating Women’s Councils across São Paulo’s commercial associations. Her tenure is marked by audacious initiatives—the Tarsila Amaral Award, financial lifelines for women through ACCREDITO SCD, and programs like PROFIS ONLINE and FACESP Mulheres. And now with her latest venture with CMEC, Badra Cotait is not limiting herself to mere advocacy or platitudes; she is aiming to provide tangible support—training, networking opportunities, and initiatives that aim to elevate not just women’s businesses but their self-worth. This is no charity. It is a movement of liberation.
The recent “LIBERDADE PARA EMPREENDER” (Freedom to Undertake) event hosted by CMEC at Monte Líbano in São Paulo was a stirring demonstration of this ethos. With 1,800 attendees, including luminaries like Cris Arcangeli, Giovanna Antonelli, and the irrepressible Carolina Brasil—herself a globetrotting entrepreneur spanning Los Angeles, Miami, and São Paulo—the gathering was not merely a conference but an inspiring moment for its attendees. Through workshops, discussions, and an electric exchange of ideas, the event underscored a single, irrefutable truth: unity among women entrepreneurs is not just a nicety; it is a necessity.
CMEC’s initiatives focus on the pillars of entrepreneurial success: psychological and professional support to combat the isolation many women face; workshops on vital topics such as financial acumen and digital marketing to arm them with skills; and an enduring advocacy for public policies that seek to dismantle the barriers facing women in business. It is an endeavor not just to enable women but to value them, to affirm their rightful place in the business world as creators, innovators, and leaders.
As movements go, CMEC is both a symbol and a mechanism of transformation. Its capacity to foster an equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem in a sector historically skewed against women is as critical as it is inspiring. Yet, for all its triumphs, the path forward remains fraught with challenges.
The relentless march of digital transformation and the unpredictable demands of a post-pandemic economy require CMEC to evolve and innovate if it is to remain relevant and impactful. And yet, given the current trajectory, there is every reason to believe it can rise to meet the moment.
The global economy has begun to acknowledge the untapped potential of women-led enterprises, and movements like CMEC are poised to not only endure but to thrive. In a world where diversity increasingly correlates with profitability and societal discourse demands justice, CMEC is no longer a side story—it is the main stage. Let us hope, for the sake of progress and equity, that they continue their vital work with the vigor and clarity of purpose they so nobly exemplify.
