The first cohort of 82 from the Oxford-SWUFE ‘10,000 Women Entrepreneurship Program’ graduated today following five months’ part-time training on business and management.
 
 China’s economy may show signs of slowing down, but there is clearly no slow-down in the supply of highly motivated and well educated young women determined to maintain the momentum of China’s economic surge through entrepreneurship.
 
The program, a partnership between Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and the School of Business Administration at South Western University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), is funded by the ‘10,000 Women’ initiative sponsored by Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs Foundation.
 
The 82 graduates from western China represent a diverse group of industries including agriculture, education, online retail, manufacturing, and IT. With no previous management training, most of the women are running SMEs at an early development stage. The All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) and Taobao both partnered with Goldman Sachs to recommend high-performing entrepreneurs for the program.

“One of the key components of 10,000 Women is partnership.” says J. Michael Evans, Vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia and Global Head of Growth Markets. “When the public and private sectors work together, they become forces for transformation and engines of economic growth. Together all of our partners here bring expertise in business and management, entrepreneurship, gender development and access to capital. More importantly, you bring critical and practical perspectives, enabling us to deliver a world-class program in a local context.”

Corresponding with the Chinese government’s policy to develop the region and its regional human capital development initiative, Goldman Sachs plans to extend the ‘10,000 Women’ initiative to Yunnan province in 2012 to provide training to more female entrepreneurs of SMEs in western China, and to promote holistic economic and social development.

“The Oxford-SWUFE program provides female entrepreneurs valuable skills to grow their businesses,” said Ms Meng from the ACWF. “Female entrepreneurs have proved to be important contributors to their communities, and the ACWF looks forward to continuing its support toward the development of women through this program.”

“The energy and focus of these women scholars is so impressive, whether in the classroom or on the field trip. The finalists in the Business Plan Competition were proof of how much the women have learnt about achieving sustainable growth,’ said Elizabeth Paris, Program Director at Oxford. “The program has succeeded in attracting a very high calibre and committed group of women entrepreneurs. Their energy, contribution and progress throughout the program have been an inspiration to the lecturers, and we look forward to
seeing the progress of their businesses in the future.”

The program, which is designed to allow the women to continue running and growing their businesses, is comprise of 160 hours of training on leadership, management, and entrepreneurial skills, including accounting, marketing, accessing capital, communication and operations.

A range of delivery mechanisms were employed including lectures, workshops, company visits, and practitioner input to develop students’ skills in business planning, financing strategies and leadership.  Mentoring has been a key feature of the program and has included both alumni from the University of Oxford and the School of Business Administration, SWUFE, and other local successful entrepreneurs. The participants will remain in touch with their mentors beyond graduation as they put their learning into practice within their own businesses. Both Schools sought the input of their female MBA students (which include the nationals of 22 countries at Saïd Business School), who brought valuable insights both to the process of program design and to providing workshops for the participants.

“The partnership between Saïd Business School and SWUFE has provided a platform for female entrepreneurs in this region to enrich their experience,” said Dewu Zhao, President of SWUFE. “We believe the program will make a lasting impact on the lives of the scholars and the people they work with.”