Yuma Consulate launches seventh cohort of women’s entrepreneurship program

The Consulado de Carrera de México en Yuma opened the seventh cohort of its women’s entrepreneurship program on April 29, extending a binational pipeline that is designed to turn business ideas into working enterprises. The program, officially tied to the Program Consular de Emprendimiento para Mexicanas en el Exterior and promoted locally as Mexicana Emprende, is aimed at women of Mexican origin living abroad.

The effort gives participants educational tools, entrepreneurship training, mentorship and resources to develop, analyze and launch business ideas. Its stated goal is financial and economic autonomy, a priority that fits Yuma’s cross-border economy, where many families move constantly between community ties in Arizona and business connections in Mexico.

Past versions of the program have centered on DreamBuilder, a 12-chapter curriculum developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management. Participants typically worked through two chapters a week, then added expert talks, mentoring sessions and a business-plan competition. The top three plans received awards, giving the training a concrete finish line rather than leaving it as a classroom exercise.

The Yuma consulate has pushed the program for years. In 2022, it was already promoting Mexicana Emprende locally with the University of Arizona, showing the effort has deeper roots in Yuma than a single recruiting cycle. The consulate says its broader mission includes protection, documentation, education, health, community organization and business promotion for the Mexican-origin community, which helps explain why entrepreneurship fits naturally within its work.

That local role matters in a county where small-business support is already part of the economic fabric. The Arizona Small Business Development Center in Yuma serves entrepreneurs in Yuma and La Paz counties, and the U.S. Small Business Administration has recognized the Yuma SBDC for its dedication, leadership and innovation in supporting small businesses. The consulate also uses the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior network to coordinate programming with community leaders and institutions, reinforcing the border region’s binational business links.

The larger Mexicana Emprende effort has expanded through many Mexican consulates and produced thousands of graduates worldwide. In Yuma, the seventh cohort adds another layer to a program that links training, mentorship and community support to the next step for women who want to build businesses on both sides of the border.