Transcript International Women’s Economic Summit

International Women’s Economic Summit
Economic Development/Jobs
June 21, 2010
Economic Development/Jobs: Panel
Monica Luechtefeld (Moderator),
EVP E-Commerce, Office Depot
Glynis Long,
Export Strategist, Small Business Advocate
Mariam Nawabi,
President and CEO, AMDi Inc.
Television Anchor, America Abroad Media
John Nkuranga,
Republic of Rwanda, former Director of Protocol
Monica Luechtefeld
EVP E-Commerce, Office Depot
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Office Depot’s Executive Vice President of Global E-Commerce. Responsible for
driving innovation and customer driven features across our global websites
Office Depot has over 50 websites in 20 countries in 16 different languages. Sales
currently over $4.1 Billion
With Office Depot for 17 years. Held numerous positions throughout the
organization from Vice President, Marketing and Sales Administration to Senior
Vice President, E-Commerce to Executive Vice President, IT & Business
Development, and Executive Vice President, IT & Supply Chain.
Committed to lending my expertise to the office supply industry as well the
community in which I live and work. Serves on the Department of Homeland
Security’s Private Sector Senior Advisory Committee, a Board Member for The
Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW.org). A member of Florida
International University’s College of Business Advisory Board, a Board member of
the Boca Chamber of Commerce and a Trustee of Mount St. Mary’s College.
Passionate about the success of small business and, most especially, women
business owners and entrepreneurs.
About Office Depot
• Office Depot employs 41,000 people
• Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida US
• Global provider of nationally branded and private brand office
supplies, technology products, furniture and services by
means of a dedicated sales force, catalogs and call centers,
and electronically through Internet sites.
• Total Sales in 2009 were $12.1 Billion USD
• Operations in 50 Countries around the World
- Retail Superstores
- Contract sales to Large Corporations
- Direct Sales (Online and Catalog) to small business
About Office Depot E-Commerce
• No one sells more Office Products in more countries over
the Internet than Office Depot
• Global E-Commerce Annual Sales are $4.1 Billion USD
• We operate 9 Websites in the US and over 50
International Websites in 30 Countries in over 20 languages
Austria
Belgium
Canada
China
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
Denmark Hungary
El Salvador
Finland
France
Germany Italy
Guatemala
Luxembourg
So Korea
India
Mexico
Spain
Ireland
Netherlands
Sweden
Israel
Norway
Switzerland
Poland
United Kingdom
Japan
Slovakia
Kuwait & Dubai
Office Depot and Small Business
• Small Business is the engine that drives the economy –
wherever you are located
• Small Business represents over 80% of Office Depot’s
revenue
• The success of Small Business is critically important for our
growth
• We are committed to supporting the development of Small
Businesses across the globe
Lessons Learned from our Customers
Mountain of paperwork
• A small business owner may be the CEO, but is also responsible for sales,
marketing, bookkeeping, HR, advertising, client relations, and
procurement. Because they often do it all, they report spending up to 40%
of their time on employer-related paperwork.
Where the heart is
• 53% of the nation's businesses are now operated from home, which gives
many people, especially parents, a better balance between career and
family.
– Home businesses, typically less expensive to start up, manage, run, grow, and
expand.
Women on the move
• Entrepreneurial women in the US own 6.5 million businesses that
generate $959.6 billion in revenues and employ 7.2 million workers. Some
of them are driven to start a business to break the glass ceiling and others
wish to gain more ownership of their work schedule.
Small Businesses in the US
What is a small business?
– It has been defined as an independent business having fewer than 500
employees
• Office Depot defines it much smaller – less than 100 employees
How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?
– Represent 99.7% of all employer firms
– Employ half of all private sector employees
– Pay 44% of total U.S. private sector payroll
– Have generated 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years
– 52% home-based businesses
How many small businesses are there?
– In 2008, there were 29.6 million small businesses in the US
– Only 18,000 large businesses
What is survival rate for new firms?
– 7 out of 10 new firms last at least 2 years
– 51% survive 5 years or more
Source: The Office of Advocacy
Small Businesses in Europe
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Often referred to as the backbone of the European economy
European Commission policy is concentrated in five priority areas
– Promotion of entrepreneurship and skills
– Improvement of SMEs’ access to markets
– Cutting red tape
– Improvement of SMEs’ growth potential
– Strengthening dialogue and consultation with SME stakeholders
Special SME envoy has been set up in th European Commission Directorate-General
Enterprise with the objective of better integrating the SME dimension into EU
policies
SMEs are defined as:
– Micro enterprises: less than 10 persons employed
– Small enterprises: 10-49 persons employed
– Medium-sized enterprises: 50-249 persons employed
SMEs
– represents 99.8% of EU-27 enterprises in the non-financial business economy
– Employ two thirds of the workforce (67.4%)
– Generate 57.7% of total value (varies by sector)
Glynis Long
Export Strategist, Small Business Advocate
• Working with the World Bank, International Finance Corporation and for
the US Small Business Administration, Glynis assists US SMEs export.
• Previously, Glynis led the Asia Sector for International Trade at SBA
(www.sba.gov/international) and developed the Online Women’s Business
website in multiple languages.
• She was formerly with the Securities & Exchange Commission
(www.sec.gov).
• At the Organization of American States (OAS), she is Treasurer and Board
Member of the NGO “Young Americas Business Trust” (www.ybiz.net ).
• Glynis is an international SME speaker for women, internet and innovative
business issues in Washington, DC, Istanbul, Turkey and Seoul, S. Korea.
• Glynis is a member of the DC Rotary Club (www.dcrotary.org ) and the
national Leadership America, which supports women’s issues. As a Founder,
she is developing a global network of international breast cancer centers
for under-served women.
Glynis Long
• Non-profits and government agencies create energy that
encourages the growth of women’s small businesses.
• How does the SBA support small business?
– Created non-profit organizations supporting small business through training,
counseling, networking and match-making. These training centers and the
SBA district and regional offices help small business find finances to start or
grow their businesses.
• 112 Women’s Business Centers
• 1,100 Small Business Development Centers
• 600 SCORE chapters
• How does Rotary International support small business?
– Rotary was known for their success with Polio eradication, now they are
helping emerging countries with water purification, maternal/child health
AND economic development.
– Rotary has members that are current or retired business people that help
small businesses in their own communities. They have inspired many
women business owners.
Mariam Nawabi
President and CEO, AMDi Inc.
Television Anchor, America Abroad Media
• Attorney who works on economic development, media and rule of law
projects in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
• Television Anchor for America Abroad Media for PUL show, which
broadcasts from the US to Afghanistan
• Co-Founder of Artizan Sarai, a portal that helps artisans to market their
goods.
• Founder of the Afghanistan Advocacy Group, which has submitted
testimony and policy memos to Congress.
• Served as Senior Advisor to the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce
and Commercial and Trade Counsel to the Embassy of Afghanistan
• Provided recommendations on the equality clause of the new Constitution
of Afghanistan through the UN.
• Has spoken at numerous conferences, seminars and fundraising events and
on tv and radio regarding Afghanistan, rule of law, media and other topics.
Mariam Nawabi
• Experiences and lessons learned in starting and running
a small business
– When hiring, structure is very important
– Organizational charts are critical
• Marketing
– Brand/logo
– Business Cards, Website, Letterhead
– Business associations and events
• The importance of a business plan in growing your
business
– Vision/goals
– Costing
– Marketing plan
Mariam Nawabi
• Relationship building
– Organizations and companies
– Government agencies
– Foreign donors
• Mentors
– Identifying 1-2 mentors
– Approaching mentors
– Asking for help when you need it
John Nkuranga
Former Director of Protocol, Republic of Rwanda
• Self-motivated mid-career entrepreneur oriented and policy
maker. A professional, detail oriented and energetic
individual, looking forward to contribute to the progress and
development of my country.
• MBA – Finance student at Oklahoma Christian University
scheduled to graduate on August 14th 2010.
• Served as a Director of Protocol, Office of the President of the
Republic of Rwanda. (2004 – August 2009)
• Served as Assistant to the Minister in the Office of the
President of the Republic of Rwanda(2003 – Feb 2004)
• Served as Head of Logistics and Supplies, Office of the
President of the Republic of Rwanda (2001 – 2003).
John Nkuranga
• How your current academic work will inform what
you plan to do when you return to Rwanda
- need to have skills, character & networking
- definite financial goals
- drawing on experiences
- innovation is today’s hot commodity
John Nkuranga
• Knowledge gained in US on access to capital and job
creation will benefit Rwanda
- viable business proposals
- partnerships
- bearing risk/No pain No gain
- Creating business through corporations
John Nkuranga
• Challenges and barriers women face in access to capital
- lack of skills required for viable business projects
- insufficient research
- low level of network in the business world
- Culture and Social Barriers
• In Rwanda, the support platform is in place but more emphasis needs to be
placed on educating women as to what is available to them.
- High level political support, transformational leadership and a
champion for the cause of women’s economic & social
empowerment.
- Good will is not enough – bold laws guaranteeing equal access to
& ownership of property, land and inheritance.
John Nkuranga
Rwandan Woman in Basket weaving activities
Q&A
Appendix
Q & A – Glynis
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How difficult is it to engage volunteers with government
and civil society to help in economic development?
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How do you know if the community is successful in helping
its women business owners?
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How can Rwandan and Afghan women help the women in
their home countries?
Q & A - Mariam
As someone working in media, what advice would
you give to business owners regarding how
media can help or hurt their business?
As an attorney, what would you identify as the
major legal issues business owners should be
prepared to face?
Q & A - John
1. How are culture and social barriers that discourage women
and girls from being entrepreneurs be addressed?
2. Is having skills to write viable business proposals that can be
funded by banks enough for Rwandan & Afghan women in
creating and sustaining jobs?