Vital Voices, a leading non-governmental organisation, has launched the Grow Fellowship, a one year comprehensive programme for women business owners in Jordan.

The organisation seeks to identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.

The Grow Fellowship, which is supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation, will help female owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grow their businesses by combining online learning, in-person training, tailored technical assistance, and follow-on services.

The fellowship's five modules include business-planning, networking for business professionals, understanding key markets, executive financial management, and leadership and business ethics.

This initiative builds on a longstanding partnership between Vital Voices and the ExxonMobil Foundation to support the strategic development of businesswomen's networks in three regions throughout the world. These growing networks in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America aim to increase the number of women succeeding as entrepreneurs and business leaders and currently reach over 5,000 women.

Despite the proven benefits of women's economic engagement in creating more prosperous and secure communities, women business owners face disproportionate barriers in growing their businesses. They have difficulty accessing valuable business networks, technology, training, credit, markets, and equal protection under the law.

There is, however, an opportunity to address these barriers through targeted interventions that are aimed at building the skills of women business owners. These interventions include helping women develop business plans to grow their businesses, connecting them to fellow businesswomen and organisations, and opening up new markets and opportunities to achieve personal and business growth.  

Vital Voices president and CEO Alyse Nelson said that the Grow Fellowship will “tap in to the vast potential of these women-owned businesses by providing current, innovative, localised, and practical training and connections to women business owners to grow their businesses and contribute to the economic growth of local, national and regional economies." - TradeArabia News Service