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VISA SHE’S NEXT: SHAPING THE FUTURE FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

SITUATION

The She’s Next initiative is Visa’s flagship program aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs by providing financial support, mentorship, and networking opportunities to help grow their businesses. This initiative responds to the findings of the Visa-commissioned study, “Card Payments and Entrepreneurs,” which revealed significant barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in Bulgaria. Among them are a lack of information about available resources, low confidence, lack of skills, market instability, and bureaucratic difficulties.

AMI Communications was entrusted with the task of adapting the global program to meet the specific needs of Bulgarian women entrepreneurs and supporting the planning and implementation of a comprehensive communication campaign in the country.

GOALS

  • Empower women entrepreneurs through tailored mentorship and financial support.
  • Increase awareness of available resources for women-led businesses.
  • Position “She’s Next” as a leading platform for women entrepreneurial development in Bulgaria.

STRATEGY

  • Strategic Partnerships: Collaboration with the Ladies’ Forum NGO for mentorship expertise.
  • Influencer Engagement: Partnership with famous singer and music producer Maria Ilieva to amplify program visibility.
  • Integrated Campaigns: Combined storytelling, media outreach, and digital campaigns.
  • Digital Accessibility: User-friendly landing page for applications and program information.

TACTICS

Initiative Organisation Activities

Identification of local needs

  • Study, commissioned by Visa, to identify the needs of women entrepreneurs and barriers in front of their development. 

Competition rules, application criteria, evaluation standards and jury

  • Prepare competition rules
  • Formulate comprehensive criteria and evaluation standards for applicants
  • Support selection of jury members and coordinate panel of esteemed women leaders – representatives of Visa Bulgaria, Ladies’ Forum and partners.

Strategic Partnerships

  • Collaboration with Ladies’ Forum NGO to leverage their expertise in mentorship and contacts with relevant SMEs.
  • Ambassador Involvement – cooperation with Maria Ilieva, a well-known pop singer and music producer and entrepreneur, to act as an ambassador.

Digital Engagement:

  • Dedicated She’s Next Landing Page on the Ladies’ Forum website with user-friendly application form for the candidates.
  • Informative She’s Next Section on Visa Bulgaria website

Coordination and Management:

  • Management of all activities during the application and selection periods, ensuring smooth operations and addressing any issues promptly.
  • Coordination of the mentorship sessions, ensuring they were beneficial and aligned with the overachieving goals of the program.

COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN

Media Launch Event

  • The program highlights and study results were presented by the Visa Country Manager and Ladies’ Forum Chairwoman.
  • The event was attended by more than 50 people, including 20 journalists, 3 influencers and Visa and Ladies’ Forum partners.
  • Maria Ilieva, the program ambassador, shared her insights and lent her visibility to the initiative.

Pitch Day and Winners Announcement

  • After completing the mentorship program, the finalists presented their projects to the jury during a full-day event.
  • The top three winners of the She’s Next program in Bulgaria were announced at an official cocktail event attended by all finalists, representatives from Visa and Ladies’ Forum, banks, and journalists.
  • Each winner received grant funding to support the development of their business.

Media Communication:

  • 1 press release
  • 8 dedicated articles
  • 3 interviews of Visa Country Manager in business and general Tier 1 media.

Ambassador Collaboration: Maria Ilieva highlighted empowerment and community with total 9 posts and 4 stories in Facebook and Instagram.

Digital Campaigns: Visa and Ladies’ Forum promoted the program through targeted posts, event pages, and photos in their social media channels.

Media partnerships:

  • Forbes, authoritative business magazine – participation on Forbes Women Forum – Visa Country Manager and Ladies’ Forum Chairwoman discussed the importance of initiatives like She’s Next for women in Bulgaria. They outlined the program’s benefits and application process.
  • 24 Hours daily, most popular newspaper in Bulgaria – open special category She’s Next in the the “Big Small” competition for SMEs (were received 30 applications). Visa Country Manager handed the award to the winner in the category and presented the program key messages.
  • Edna.bg, specialized women online media. Visa participation and presenting the initiative She’s Next in the conference “The Road to Success”.

RESULTS

  • 150+ applications received
  • 15 finalists completed a three-month mentorship program, with 3 winners receiving financial grants to grow their businesses.
  • 25 media publications, including 8 special features and 3 interviews, reaching a daily audience of 2.4 million readers.
  • 31 social media posts on Visa and Ladies’ Forum channels, reaching 111,657 people.
  • 9 posts and 4 stories by Maria Ilieva, with a total reach of 614,357 people.
  • 500+ participants attended conferences and media partner events, 73% of whom were women entrepreneurs.

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