Payments company Visa on Tuesday launched “Empresaria Visa,” a “holistic program” for women entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 73% still lack access to the capital needed to grow their businesses despite leading nearly a third of the region’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The company unveiled the new initiative during the inaugural Empresaria Visa Summit in Miami. The program will be offered through Visa’s network of partners and issuers and is backed by a new partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group). The launch also marks the start of Visa’s sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.
Through the initiative, Visa aims to support women entrepreneurs in Latin America, where women lead 30% of SMEs, which are collectively growing at an annual rate of 4%, “faster” than the sector as a whole, Ilana Grimberg, Visa’s Head of Small and Medium Enterprises for Latin America and the Caribbean, told EFE.
Women-led SMEs lack access to capital, support
Despite those figures, nearly three out of four women-led SMEs in the region say they lack access to the capital and support needed to grow their businesses, which is why “Empresaria Visa” aims to “help close the gap and make them feel more empowered,” Grimberg said.
“There are Visa’s financial tools, which we already offered to our customers and SMEs, but there are also wellness, mental health and security benefits, as well as an exclusive platform and community for women entrepreneurs. It goes beyond financial services; it’s holistic,” she explained.
Visa’s traditional financial tools, available to those who already hold one of the company’s business cards, will be complemented by other resources specifically geared toward women, who often seek a broader “support ecosystem,” the executive said.
The program will therefore offer a global and interconnected approach for women entrepreneurs, including stress management and mental well-being; guidance on motherhood and parenting; legal, financial and nutritional resources; fitness and active lifestyle services; and accident protection.
“The Empresaria Visa solution helps break down those barriers because it provides a holistic approach that brings together financial tools and access to capital, while also addressing issues specific to women entrepreneurs and how they manage their businesses and their lives, which are often interconnected,” Grimberg said.
Regional platform for women entrepreneurs with IDB
To showcase the initiative’s regional potential, the inaugural Empresaria Visa Summit brought together senior leaders from financial institutions, multilateral organizations and the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The program includes a dedicated community on the IDB’s ConnectAmericas platform, the first social network for businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean designed to promote international trade and investment, with 200,000 SMEs already registered, Grimberg said.
She added that “there really is an enormous opportunity in every country and market to support women entrepreneurs” because they show high levels of loyalty to financial institutions and low delinquency rates, but “growth and success will ultimately depend on their ability to access these solutions.”
Relationships with small businesses generate, on average, five times more value for financial institutions than consumer banking relationships, with country-level multiples reaching 11 times in Brazil, seven times in Mexico and Chile, and five times in Colombia, according to a Visa study.
Official sponsor of Women’s World Cup
Grimberg also announced that Visa will sponsor the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 as part of its broader commitment to women, noting that 82% of women small-business owners believe participation in sports influences business success, according to the company.
“We saw that both initiatives stem from the same conviction: that when women have a platform and an opportunity, they can achieve wonderful things. So we are delighted to announce that we will be an official sponsor of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027,” she said. EFE