2015: 5 Years Building Inclusive Growth

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Global Corporate Members (as of March 2015)

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INTERNATIONALWEC

“WEConnect International empowers women to succeed in global markets by convening corporations and women-owned businesses to spur innovation and inclusion in global supply chains, generate more sustainable business models, and promote faster socio-economic advancement."–Al Williams, Accenture

WEConnect International envisions a world in which women have the same opportunity as their male counterparts to design and implement business solutions that create wealth and ensure the sustainable prosperity of their communities.

WEConnect International helps women-owned businesses succeed in global value chains. It identifies, educates, registers, and certifies women’s business enterprises based outside of the U.S. that are at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by one or more women, and then connects them with multinational corporate buyers.

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Five years ago, we established WEConnect International to help multinational corporations develop and leverage more diverse and inclusive global value chains. I am proud to say that our organization’s short history has been marked by tremendous growth.

Today, we educate and certify women’s business enterprises in 17 countries and support women entrepreneurs more generally in over 85 countries. More than 4,500 certified and self-registered women business owners have joined our eNetwork to network with one another and to connect with our more than 55 members representing over US$700 billion in annual purchasing power.

We could not have done this without the support of our corporate members, funders, and partners. I want to thank everyone for ensuring our success. There is, of course, still much to do to empower women business owners, and we are eager to put more money in the hands of women around the world.

Over the next five years, WEConnect International will be serving twice as many qualified buyers leveraging a much larger network of women’s business enterprises. Our buyers and sellers will be actively engaged in the network and closing billions of dollars in business deals. And the businesses we work with will employ more people with quality jobs. I hope you’ll join us in making an impact.

Thank you,

Elizabeth A. VazquezCEO & Co-Founder, WEConnect International

A Letter from the CEO & Co-Founder

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5 Years in Numbers

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5 Years in Time

The Women Owned LogoBringing Consumer Recognition to Products Made by Women

Across the globe women owned businesses supply an incredible range of products sold in retail stores everywhere.

Women Owned is an initiative to enable consumers to identify those products created by women owned businesses during their shopping experience. Any product that bears the Women Owned logo is produced by a company that is owned and operated by a woman or women, as certified by WEConnect International globally and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) in the United States.

The Women Owned logo was developed by WEConnect International and WBENC with support from Walmart.

www.womenownedlogo.com

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Success Story: Teach My ToddlerJust months after being certified as a women’s business enterprise through WEConnect International, CEO and Founder of Teach My Toddler Inc. Christy Cook signed a deal with Walmart that put her educational learning toys in 2,000 U.S. stores in spring 2015. The Toronto businesswoman’s products are among the very first to be sold with the new “Women Owned” logo.

“For us, landing in Walmart U.S.A. is a huge accomplishment,” said Cook, “and WEConnect International’s certification process was critical to accessing this opportunity.”

Cook is a Toronto native who founded Teach My Toddler Inc. in 2007. Teach My provides parents, grandparents, and caregivers with all-in-one learning kits and sets for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Requiring no screens, Teach My kits have everything necessary to teach little ones the basics. From ABC to 123 and everything in between, award-winning Teach My kits give children a head start, encourage one-on-one interaction, and create a love for learning.

WEConnect International has been active in Canada since 2009 working with strategic partners, government agencies, corporate members, and outstanding women business owners. WEConnect International is no longer affiliated with the organization formerly operating as WEConnect Canada, now WBE Canada.

www.teachmy.com

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“Walmart is focused on leveraging our size

and scale to empower women across the globe. WEConnect

International helps us identify women-owned businesses for our global

supply chain.” – Jenny Grieser, Walmart

Success Story: Mamma BellaMamma Bella, founded in 1995 and led by Lorena Garcini, offers restaurant, employee cafeteria, and catering services, servicing 35 thousand guests monthly. In 2013, Garcini sought certification as a women’s business enterprise because she thought it would bring new business, unique networking opportunities, and support her company’s growth. She was right.

As a result of their certification, Mamma Bella is now providing employee cafeteria services at two IBM facilities and corporate catering for Accenture. It has also organized some corporate events for Manpower, and has started working with Pfizer. This has translated in a net monthly increase in revenue of $30,000 USD (6%). Mamma Bella has also hired additional personnel and equipment, and has achieved a significant improvement in brand recognition.

Garcini has ambitious plans for the future as well. She aims to connect with more WEConnect International corporate members and expand the products and services Mamma Bella offers.

www.mammabella.mx

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“I had previous experience with women’s organizations and I have been pleasantly surprised with all that I’ve received from WEConnect International. I’ve been invited to very important events where I’ve had the opportunity to connect with global corporate buyers. They have helped me grow my product offerings, and I’ve received very meaningful mentoring.” – Lorena Garcini, Mamma Bella.

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Success Story: Great Sea Public RelationsGreat Sea was established in China in 1997 to enable smarter marketing for corporations. The company grew steadily, but when Co-Founder Feng Zhi Nie secured WEConnect International’s Seal of Certification, Great Sea really began to make some waves.

When Great Sea came to WEConnect International in China in 2012, they had only 50 employees and some 800 customers. By attending WEConnect International’s events and tradeshows and by identifying smart matches through the eNetwork, Great Sea quickly found opportunities to connect with new multinational corporations, including Cisco Systems, Cummins, Dell, IBM, and Microsoft.

“WEConnect International has provided us special opportunities including numerous face-to-face interactions with multinational corporations and a better understanding of multinational management processes,” says Feng.

Today, Great Sea has a total of 180 employees and over 1,000 customers. Headquartered in Beijing, it is now running businesses throughout Greater China regions with branch offices located in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. Its annual outputs include over 3,000 design works, more than 800 conferences and forums, over 300 video works, and more than 100 digitalized marketing projects.

www.greatseaplus.com/cn

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“IBM is a founding member of WEConnect International and we’ve

remained a member. We did this because we

believe in their expertise in identifying and certifying

women-owned businesses, external to the U.S., who can provide value to our

supply chain.” – Michael K. Robinson, IBM

Advancing Women-Owned Businesses in New MarketsAdvancing Women-Owned Businesses in New Markets, a “Commitment to Action” was launched in 2013 to address the challenges associated with advancing and promoting women in a competitive global economy and their effective integration into global supply chains. This commitment to action, led by WEConnect International and Vital Voices, brings together a variety of partners to integrate more women-owned businesses into corporate supply chains. It aims to increase Clinton Global Initiative corporate member spending on women-owned businesses based outside of the U.S. by at least US$1.5 billion by 2018, as well as implement supplier-readiness initiatives targeting at least 15,000 women-owned businesses based outside of the U.S. by the same target year.

On September 22, 2014, Sodexo announced its official Commitment to Action at the 10th Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York. The commitment supports the growth of small to medium sized enterprises with a pledge to purchase products and services totaling $1 billion by 2017. The Commitment to Action aims to benefit as many as 5,000 small businesses in 40 countries including the U.S., with 1,500 of those businesses being women owned and operated. WEConnect International is working with Sodexo in supporting women-owned businesses in targeted countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, India, and The United Kingdom.

http://weconnectinternational.org/clinton-global-initiative-commitment

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Buying for ImpactHow to Buy from Women and Change Our World

In 2013, Elizabeth A. Vazquez and Andrew J. Sherman set out to publish the ultimate guide to doing business with millions of entrepreneurial women around the world. Buying for Impact: How to Buy from Women and Change the World provides women looking to grow their businesses and the individuals who want to support them with all the information they need. Through case studies and research, readers learn more about how to foster women’s successful entrepreneurship for a more sustainable future.

“In this age of participation, companies, and governments are investing in women as a fundamental business and economic growth strategy. This book shares an astonishing collection of innovative applicable practices that companies, governments, and women entrepreneurs can take to decrease barriers and increase opportunities to expand women’s economic participation, ultimately allowing women to grow their incomes and contribute to the well-being of their families and all of society.”

–Melanne S. Verveer Former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State

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http://weconnectinternational.org/how-to-buy-from-women-and-change-our-world

Success Story: Simpsons TeaIn its early stages, Mama Tea definitely piqued buyers’ interest, but they also found it to be too niche. Founder Anna Louise Simpson was encouraged to develop a new product line that would be more attractive to hotels, specifically.

She did just that. Certified women’s business enterprise Simpsons Tea offers designer tea blends and provides tea ranges that now feature in some of the world’s top hotels, including Marriott International branded hotels.

“The Marriott Group has transformed my business and their ongoing support and business will push it to high growth this financial year,” says Simpson. “We supply some of the top Marriott hotels in London, including London Grosvenor House Hotel and West India Quay.”

Simpson has just begun to leverage her WEConnect International certification, however. She plans on expanding her business to reach new markets including New York.

In October 2014, Executive Director of WEConnect International in Europe Maggie Berry organized a “Meet the Buyer” event with Marriott International and 18 women’s business enterprises in London. Through introductions and similar events, she is confident Simpson’s success story with Marriott International will be one of many.

www.simpsonstea.com

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“WEConnect International has empowered Marriott International to scale our

procurement goals to include so many dynamic women-

owned businesses in the exciting new markets where we are opening hotels, such as the UK, South Africa, China, India, Mexico and beyond. They are

truly our global connection to the business partners of

the future.” – Denise Naguib, Marriott International

Testimonial: ETHNIKOS I stumbled on WEConnect International online while looking for a platform for international business networking, partnership, and collaboration since our business aims to access the global market. I was delighted to learn that WEConnect International had recently been launched in Nigeria on January 25, 2014 with the generous support of the ExxonMobil Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation.

Having my business, ETHNIKOS, certified as a women’s business enterprise (WBE) has had immediate benefits. In particular, the numerous workshops and “Meet the Buyer” events have been very enlightening.

The first event I attended was the Business Planning Workshop in Abuja. I joined some 30 women business owners who were all eager to get advice and training from WEConnect International staff and corporate representatives from Accenture. At another event, 60 WBEs had the unique opportunity to fully understand how to interact and do business with multinational companies, especially oil and gas companies like ExxonMobil.

It has been almost unreal to hear major multinational corporations encourage us to participate in their supplier diversity programs. The support and information shared by other WBEs has been very beneficial, as well.

Even though there are other events that I missed, I’m so impressed with the value achieved from these two events. The WEConnect International Seal of Certification grants us access to a global network of corporate members and WBEs and so much more.

Ajuma Ataguba Founder, ETHNIKOSwww.ethnikoscollection.com

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"Comfort Sakoma, the Executive Director for

Nigeria, lives and breathes WEConnect International,

and her passion for the organization is so

infectious that you can’t help but sign up." – Ajuma

Ataguba, ETHNIKOS

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Board of DirectorsAs of March 2015

Beth A. Brooke-Marciniak, Board Co-ChairEY

Michael Robinson, Board Co-ChairIBM

Elizabeth A. Vazquez, Board PresidentWEConnect International

Joan Namahna Kerr, Board TreasurerPacific Gas & Electric

Marianne Schoenig, Board SecretaryAccenture

Janice GreeneThe Boeing Company

Jenny GrieserWalmart

John C. LavoratoDell

Nancy MinchilloHewlett-Packard Company

Denise NaguibMarriott International

Moreen RomansDun & Bradstreet

Natalie Stirling-SandersExxonMobil

Megan StoweIntel

Terrez ThompsonThe Coca-Cola Company

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Kim AzzarelliPresident, Women in the World FoundationFounding Partner, Seneca Point Global

Ruma BoseVenture Capitalist and Author, “Mother Theresa, CEO”

Ana BirchallMember of the Romanian Parliament

Lorely BurtMember of Parliament, UK House of Commons

Alexandra P. CartCofounder, Madeira Global

Amanda EllisNew Zealand Permanent Representative to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva

Barbara FrankelSenior Vice President, Executive Editor, DiversityInc

Baroness Mary GoudieMember of Parliament, UK House of Lords

Sue LawtonAdvisor to WEConnect International

Kathleen MatthewsExecutive Vice President, Chief Communications and External Affairs Officer, Marriott International

Julie OyegunFormer Chief Diversity Officer, The World Bank Group

Kari RestonFounder and CEO, Boredom to Boardroom

Catherine RodgersVice President, Global Engagement Office, IBM

Andrew ShermanPartner M+A and Corporate, Jones Day

Parul SoniGlobal Managing Partner, TTC Global

Abby SpringSenior Vice President, Global Social Responsibility, Edelman

Kapil TalwarCo-founder, Director, Mantrax VenturesFormer Co-founder, Vice-President, Vihana, Inc

Diane TompsonPresident, Novaris

Julie WeeksPresident & CEO, Womenable

Perry YeatmanFormer President, Kraft Foods Foundation

Global Advisory CouncilAs of March 2015

Accenture*

Access Bank

AIG

Anthem

Apple

AT&T*

AvisBudget

Barclays

BNY Mellon

The Boeing Company*

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Cargill

Carlson Rezidor

Chevron

Cisco Systems, Inc.*

The Coca-Cola

Company

Cummins, Inc.

Dell

Delta

Dun & Bradstreet

DW Morgan

Enterprise Holdings

The Estee Lauder

Companies

ExxonMobil Corporation

EY*

Goldman-Sachs

Hewlett-Packard*

Hilton

IBM Corporation*

The Inter-American

Development Bank

Intel*

Interpublic Group

Johnson Controls

Johnson & Johnson

Manpower Group*

Marriott International

MasterCard

Merck

Microsoft

Monsanto

Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Pacific Gas and Electric*

Pfizer, Inc.*

Procter & Gamble

Roche

Sodexo

Verizon*

Walmart*

Wyndham Worldwide

Global Corporate Members (as of March 2015)

Local Corporate Members (as of March 2015)

Alcatel-Lucent (Canada)*

American Express (Europe)

BaxterStorey (Europe)

Clifford Chance (Europe)

CR Global Law (Costa Rica)

Ecolab (Europe)

Fasken Martineau (Canada)

JP Morgan Chase (Europe)

MetLife (Europe)

Morgan Stanley (Europe)

Royal Bank of Scotland (Europe)

Superior SDI Limited (Europe)

TD Bank (Canada)

Westpac (Australia)

(*) Founding member

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Major Grants (As of March 2015)

ExxonMobilInter-American Development Bank

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)The Rockefeller Foundation

U.S. Department of StateWalmart

African Women’s Entrepreneurs ProgramClinton Global InitiativeConnect to SuccessDiversityIncThe International Alliance for WomenInternational Finance CorporationInternational Trade CentreMadeira GlobalNational Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

Organization of Women in International TradeTRACE InternationalUN Development BusinessUN Global CompactUN Office for Project ServicesU.S. Chamber of CommerceVital VoicesWomen’s Business Enterprise National CouncilWomen Presidents Organization

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Major Global Partners (As of March 2015)

Elizabeth A. VazquezCEO and Co-Founder

Jean RogersChief Operating Officer

Belisa de las CasasDirector of Latin America

Liz Cullen WhiteheadDirector of Women’s Business

Development

Alexandra Di CoccoOffice Assistant

Anne HoyeOperations Manager

Kerri MurphyCertification Program Manager

Michael TobolskiDirector of Corporate Relations

Cate UrbanCommunications Manager

Global Team (As of March 2015)

Market Leads (As of March 2015)

AustraliaAnne Tesch

BrazilJennifer Iverson

Canada Astrid Pregel

CaribbeanYaneek Page

ChileFrancisca Valdés

ChinaSu Cheng Harris Simpson

ColombiaAna Guevara

Costa RicaAntonina Sequeira

IndiaSucharita Eashwar

IndonesiaSuryani Motik

MexicoLuz María de la Mora

Middle EastJasmine Foundation Staff

NigeriaComfort Sakoma

PeruClaudia Leno

TurkeyNilay Çelik

United KingdomMaggie Berry

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Get Certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise

If your business is focused on growth, WEConnect International can support your ambitions to succeed in local and global markets. Certification benefits include access to the eNetwork, invitations to forums presented by corporate members, networking opportunities with procurement officers, and learning opportunities to develop your business capacity.

Start making connections with multinational corporations.

https://weconnectinternational.org/get-certified

Become a Corporate MemberWEConnect International provides members with the global database and resources required to develop and leverage a diverse and inclusive global value chain. Membership benefits include business growth, risk management, global innovation, vendor development, knowledge exchange, brand enhancement, and leader engagement.

Join a global movement to build a diverse work environment where more women compete to grow their companies and create jobs.

https://weconnectinternational.org/membership-opportunities

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nnectINTERNATIONAL

WECWEConnect International1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1080Washington, DC 20036 USA

Phone: 1.202.810.6000www.WEConnectInternational.orgFacebook: WEConnectionTwitter: @WEConnectionLinkedIn: WEConnect-International

Photo credits: Thanks to Martin Larose, Lorena Garcini, Anna Louise Simpson, and Ajuma Ataguba.