Doing Business in Mexico: NAWBO Members go to Cozumel
By: Lisa J. Koss, International Advantage® and NAWBO Liaison to Latin America, International Forum
NAWBO supported a new international initiative May 11-14, 2008, for members to engage and do business with their sister organization in Mexico, the Asociación Mexicana de Mujeres Empresarias (AMMJE), which translates “Mexican Association of Women Business Owners.”
While interested members have been attending each others’ national conferences for several years – including the participation of NAWBO president, Lisa Hickey Kaiser, in AMMJE national conference in Veracruz, Mexico in 2007 – this initiative was unique in that it targeted a niche opportunity for those working in tourism, real estate and international meeting planning to come to explore ways to do business with AMMJE business owners at the tourist destination of Cozumel.
Cozumel is a beautiful, tropical island off the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, just east of the coastal city of Cancún. Cozumel is Mexico’s only Caribbean island and, measuring 32mi by 9mi (53km by 14km), it is also the country's largest.
Cozumel chapter president Margarita Carbajal Carmona organized and invited NAWBO members to attend the event, heavily subsidizing all costs associated with the event, including meals, hotel costs, transportation and entertainment.
Matchmaking was offered and a seminar was presented entitled “Doing Business Across Cultures” by Lisa J. Koss, Liaison to Mexico and Latin America for the International Forum of NAWBO. Several governmental dignitaries attended the event, which was held in the National Museum Theater.
Jennifer Jones, the CEO of Seed Technologies and President of the NAWBO chapter in Tulsa OK said, “Attending the AMMJE event in Cozumel was the most amazing experience for me. Although I understand very little Spanish, I was surprised to find that most of the members were fluent in English. There was such an exchange of ideas and energy; I left the island feeling like one of their members.”
As a result of the initiative, more collaboration was planned. Four women from Cozumel area attended the NAWBO National conference in Phoenix June 12-14. Their attendance boosted the number of Latin American participants to nine. AMMJE national president Rosa Elena Lozano addressed the conference attendees and was accompanied by national vice president Noemi Canto, and director of international business, Adriana Alvarez.
Plans were also made to give more NAWBO women business owners a chance to go to Cozumel for matchmaking and educational sessions later this year. AMMJE Cozumel has set Sept 25-27, 2008 as the next matchmaking endeavor and opened this event to anyone who is interested in commerce with Mexico. Information will be posted on the NAWBO website or directly by contacting organizers Cozumel president Margarita Carbajal Carmona (who does speak English) ammjecozumel@hotmail.com or NAWBO liaison, Lisa Koss at lisakoss@intladvantage.com.
AMMJE and NAWBO both belong to the global organization Femmes Chef d’Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM).
About International Advantage and Lisa J. Koss
Lisa J. Koss, CMC® (Certified Management Consultant), founded International Advantage® LLC in 1992 and is recognized as helping leaders and groups who work in global or culturally-diverse environments to achieve their goals twice as fast. The organization’s mission is to serve medium and large-sized organizations worldwide – that operate internationally or with large populations of multi-cultural employees - to navigate change. International Advantage has partnered with clients such as Honeywell, Pulte Homes, Molex Inc. and Weyerhaeuser.