U.S. Department of State and Amazon Team Up to Support Women Entrepreneurs and Increase Educational Opportunities in Mexico

01/09/2023 08:26 AM EST

 

Office of the Spokesperson

With the North American Leaders’ Summit getting underway this week in Mexico City, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and Amazon announced today a new public-private partnership in support of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program in Latin America and American Spaces in Mexico. This new public-private partnership, launching during the U.S.-Mexico’s bicentennial of bilateral relations, will support the Department and Amazon’s shared priorities toward promoting gender equity, economic competitiveness, education, and development.

Now operating in more than 100 countries, the Department established AWE in 2019 to provide women entrepreneurs the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch or scale successful businesses. Amazon will help provide program support for this year’s AWE participants in southern Mexico, including pitch competition seed funds and access to Amazon learning products for more than 100 women entrepreneurs. Amazon’s contribution will also support AWE participants in Brazil. In addition, the Department and Amazon will expand the reach and impact of American Spaces in Mexico. American Spaces – a vital U.S. diplomatic tool – are open-access learning and gathering places around the world that promote interaction between local communities and the United States. There are more than 570 American Spaces in 130 countries worldwide.

This public-private partnership aligns with the United States’ National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality and the U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security by promoting women’s leadership and expanding education and economic development opportunities for underserved communities in southern Mexico and Brazil.

Amazon’s partnership with the Department reflects its long-standing commitment to strengthen the sustainability of local communities and actively promote women’s leadership in the workplace, marketplace, and community.