By Reporter
The Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organisation (WEDO) Ambassadors work globally to spread the WEDO grassroots mission and message to empower women and girls to become active participants in the economy by igniting a network of women leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs to initiate startups, drive economic expansion and advance communities around the world. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, WEDO builds and catalyzes the vital networks of like-minded individuals and organizations that women business leaders need to realize their full potential and change the world.
Our global agenda this year will focus on the impact of Artificial Intelligence, Fintech and Blockchain Technologies, the disruption happening globally, and the important, pivotal role women play!
The WEDO Ambassadors have grown to be celebrated in 144 countries and 110 universities. We convene Business Leaders, Government Officials and Civil society to collaborate and find solutions in critical areas of entrepreneurship ecosystems, education and policy creation to empower women in business.
“Historically, women worldwide have been underpaid, undervalued, underrepresented, underfunded and underestimated. We are dedicated, determined and driven to change this global imbalance”, said Wendy Diamond, Founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.
The objective of our WEDO Ambassadors in 2021 is to strategically scale and deepen our impact globally.
In Uganda, women entrepreneurs will be coming together on Friday 19 November, with support from HiPipo, Stanbic Business Incubator, Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Met Media, to celebrate, support, and empower other women entrepreneurs in the region. Damali Ssali has been selected as the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Ambassador for 2021 representing Uganda.
Damali Ssali will be launching a series of initiatives and campaigns in support of entrepreneurial development and support for women in Uganda. An established entrepreneur and leading businesswoman in her field, WEDO Ambassador Damali Ssali, brings together a host of experiences fostering opportunities for innovation and development for women entrepreneurs.
Damali Ssali is a Ugandan Afro-optimist, an Author and the Founder of the Ideation Corner. She established the Ideation Corner, a social impact investment fund, that seeks a Uganda where every innovative entrepreneur has access to capital to scale their business. Damali’s range of expertise includes financial services, trade policy, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
She is an Alumna of Harvard Business School where she specialized in Executive Leadership. Also, she holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Grenoble Graduate School of Business in France, with a specialization in Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Management. Damali is an accountant by training and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and an affiliate of the Institute of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
She started off her career in financial services industry, in the City of London, working with one of the largest hedge funds in the world. Damali later transitioned her career into trade development and facilitation when she relocated back to Uganda in 2013 with dreams of setting up a venture capital fund to support innovative young Ugandans with seed funding.
The ambassadors have been working diligently to elevate the WEDO movement simultaneously with WEDO’s annual event which will take place officially worldwide on November 19th, 2021, and in New York City at the United Nations. Everyone will come together to join WEDO’s mission in alleviating poverty by empowering, celebrating and supporting women in business globally.
“It is inspiring to see women across the globe unite for a single cause,” said Wendy Diamond, Founder, and President of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. “By donating their time, effort and resources to Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, they are not only celebrating, supporting and empowering women in business in over 100 countries but also contributing to global unification.”
Minus Damali Ssali, other global business leaders that have joined WEDO this year include; Anna Sui (International Fashion Designer), Her Royal Highness Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Shanu Hinduja (Chairperson Hinduja Foundation U.S., Co-Chair Hinduja Global Solutions), Kathleen King (Founder Tate’s Bake Shop Sold to OREO giant Mondelez International for a yummy $500 million!), Eileen Murray (Co-CEO Bridgewater Associates, The world’s largest hedge fund), and Her Excellency Inga Rhonda King (Seventy-Fourth President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) United Nations).
Building on the successes of WEDO, the WEDO Ambassadors across the globe will initiate programs, campaigns and mentorship programs with regions adopting entrepreneurial support programs that showcase new business ventures in technology, food production, fashion, retail, environmental and educational enterprises being launched.
WEDO is making a difference! Ambassador achievements include funding 500 Syrian refugee girls to attend high school in Jordan. Saudi Arabia WEDO team hosted a nation-wide entrepreneurship training program for 60,000 female college students and early-stage entrepreneurs and 25 young women received funding to launch their own businesses. In New York City at the United Nations, WEDO donated 500 microloans to impoverished women so they can start their own business. In Oman, our WEDO ambassador announced an initiative to empower women and girls by using their votes against arranged marriage. And in Uruguay, a partnership with a local university offered 20 scholarships to the girls present at the WEDO summit. Our Philippines team educated 1000 rural women with financial literacy – all over the world WEDO’s Ambassador team is making an impact!
“Empowering women worldwide and investing in their futures helps to drive and promote economic vitality and security locally and globally,” said Diamond. “Leadership skills, such as cooperation, communication, and sharing are more commonly associated with women. We want to celebrate the unwavering positives that women entrepreneurs bring to the global economy as well as inspire and support future generations of women entrepreneurs.”
About Women’s Entrepreneurship Day
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WEDO) will be celebrated globally on November 19th, and is the world’s largest, non-governmental, volunteer, grassroots movement and mission dedicated to celebrating, supporting and empowering women worldwide. WEDO encourages four billion women worldwide to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, with the goal of inspiring hope and alleviating poverty.
WEDO will also launch the #ChooseWOMEN initiative on December 1, 2021 a global social media initiative and directory inspiring women and men to pledge their support to a women-owned business or cause.