Case Study 4 - Market Access
Problem
While women owned businesses in the United States have had access to corporate procurement opportunities since 1997, no such program has existed in other countries. As a result, women entrepreneurs have remained almost invisible in the global supply chain.
Solution: Use Certification to Access the Global Supply Chain
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) in the U.S. is comprised of half of the Fortune 500 companies. The organization certifies businesses that are at least 51% or more owned, managed and controlled by one or more women. Its corporate members do not count their spending with women owned firms that are not certified by WBENC as Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs).
Because of Quantum Leaps’ high-level global network, leading multinational corporations asked us to incubate a new organization to do internationally what WBENC does in the United States. We created WEConnect International and piloted it in the UK and Canada. Now a freestanding institution, the organization has affiliates in Canada, China, Europe, India and Peru, with more under development.
Quantum Leaps’ former Executive Director Elizabeth Vazquez serves as WEConnect’s CEO, and Quantum Leaps’ CEO serves as WEConnect’s Global Advisor.
WEConnect has 26 multinational corporations as members, including Accenture, Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Boeing, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Cumming, D&B, Ernst & Young, ExxonMobil, Full Circle Exchange, GSK, Goldman Sachs, HP, IBM, Intel, Manpower, Marriott, Microsoft, Motorola, PG&E, Pfizer, RBS, United Technologies, Verizon and Walmart.