Visa’s exciting and unique She’s Next program launches in Hungary this spring to support women entrepreneurs, who typically face career challenges that men face less or not at all.
On 28 March, Visa, the world’s leading digital payments provider, launched its global program for women entrepreneurs in Hungary. Experts and entrepreneurs will select the five best female entrepreneurs from the applicants. A good application for the She’s Next program requires a compelling entrepreneurial story, good business metrics, digital presence, and problem-solving skills. All selected entrepreneurs will win a prize of HUF 2 million and participate in a one-year mentoring program. Applications can be submitted from 28 March until 21 May.
But why is this needed?
Gender discrimination is present in almost all areas of society, and the entrepreneurial scene is no exception: in Hungary, more than twice as many firms are owned by men than by women. According to a recent Ipsos study on Czech, Hungarian, and Slovak entrepreneurs, the three primary difficulties for women are finance, self-confidence, and the fact that they are often completely on their own with their questions or when they need help. Almost one in four Hungarian women entrepreneurs have encountered prejudice when trying to raise capital for their businesses, and more than half of them reported a lack of self-confidence. Furthermore, they also lack help: most of them do not know where to seek professional assistance or self-training. In addition, women are still more burdened by family responsibilities, which are also a major challenge to balance with being an entrepreneur.
The global She’s Next program was launched in 2020 and has already granted more than $2.8 million to women entrepreneurs worldwide, including in the United States, Poland, and Ireland.
Who can apply?
The business profile is not specified, but the presence of women is an essential criterion, of course: businesses in which the majority owner is a woman or woman sole proprietors can apply. They must be beyond the initial stages; the company must be registered before 1 January 2021, has a positive result for the previous year, and their current goal should be expanding. Moreover, digital presence is an additional requirement, meaning a website, a web store, or an active social media presence. The applicants should share their business story, their inspiration for taking this journey, and also some challenges they often face. Lastly, they must have a plan for profits as they should present how they would use it.
Kriszta D. Tóth, founder and CEO of WMN, is the ambassador of the She’s Next program in Hungary and one of the experts evaluating the applications. She emphasized that she wants to pay special attention to the stories behind the businesses and understand the adaptability capacity of the entrepreneurs and their businesses to the ever-changing world’s challenges. The jury will also include Ildikó Ginzer, Deputy Chief Business Officer for Standard Services at the Hungarian Bankholding; Katalin Juhász, Visa’s regional Products & Solutions Director; Andrea Kozma, founder of STRT Holding and founder and Head of CEU InnovationsLab; Krisztina Máté, producer of the Hungarian Shark Tank; Judit Rácz, founder and CEO of Skinsmart and Geek&Gorgeous; Bence Sármay, Visa’s Country Manager for Hungary, and Ágnes Sütő, Vice President of the Hungarian Banking Association.
Details of the program and how to apply can be found here. We wish you a successful application process!
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