PepsiCo Europe Helps Empower Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets

PepsiCo today announces the second phase of its women entrepreneur programme, in partnership with the Trestle Group Foundation, to provide business support to high-potential women entrepreneurs in emerging economies.

Nur Begen, the owner of Organicera, a Turkish company producing high quality cotton goods and Deniz Alkan, Finance Director of Beverages for PepsiCo Turkey, will be the second round of female entrepreneurs to participate in the programme which will provide a unique blend of traditional coaching techniques combined with consulting, supervising and skills development.

The announcement follows the success of the pilot scheme which launched in 2009 and saw Mary Good, Manufacturing Director of Beverages for PepsiCo’s Europe Region partnered with Rana K. Akhal, a Jordanian entrepreneur who founded MEDAL Consulting Ltd, a business advisory and organizational development firm that operates projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The initiative is sponsored by the PepsiCo Europe Diversity & Inclusion Council and is based on the Trestle Group Foundation’s Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Partnership Program which identifies a qualified woman entrepreneur in an emerging economy and partners her with a specially selected female PepsiCo executive who will help her build the skills, strategies, practices and networks needed to develop her business. By extension, the partnership also aims to support economic opportunities within the entrepreneur’s wider community by allowing her to fulfill her potential and secure long-term business success.

Reflecting on her participation in the programme, Rana K. Akhal, Managing Director MEDAL Consulting Ltd notes: “The programme filled a gap that exists in other mentoring programmes in Jordan through providing well planned one-on-one technical support. This support allowed me to share bottlenecks and challenges and offered me quality input from top-performing corporate executives at PepsiCo on how these could be resolved. The input I received helped in revising and refining our strategic plan which in turn accelerated my business growth. This experience also made me realise the importance of mentoring to small businesses and as a result, I am now mentoring two businesswomen in under-privileged areas in Jordan this year. “

“At PepsiCo, we are committed to promoting diversity, attracting the world’s best talent and providing challenging opportunities for our women executives to develop” says Cynthia Trudell, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Chief Personnel Officer PepsiCo. “The next stage in our partnership with the Trestle Group Foundation is an exciting milestone for us which not only brings to life one of PepsiCo’s intrinsic values – talent sustainability - but also provides the opportunity for our female executives to give back, share their experience and effect real change by supporting women-led companies in emerging economies.”

Dana Brice Smith, Director Trestle Group Foundation, comments: “We believe that entrepreneurship fuels the engine that drives economic opportunity and growth. By supporting women-led businesses, we encourage social progress. Partnerships with companies like PepsiCo – that provide vital executive support – are invaluable in driving the success of women-led companies in emerging economies.”

###
About Trestle Group Foundation
Developed by a dynamic team of international business professionals, Trestle Group Foundation is an innovative, change-provoking, non-profit organization dedicated to creating and expanding sustainable economic opportunities in emerging economies by supporting high-potential women entrepreneurs.

For more information about Trestle Group Foundation, visit: http://www.trestlegroupfoundation.org

About the Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Partnership Program:
The award-winning Partnership Program identifies qualified women entrepreneurs in emerging economies and partners them with established business professionals who help build the skills, strategies, practices and networks needed to overcome barriers to growth, and further develop the entrepreneur’s business.

The customised, relationship-based program model provides a unique blend of executive coaching, collaborative team support, skill building and networking – actively engaging networks and resources to “open doors” to new business opportunities.

By extension, the partnership aims to support economic opportunities within the entrepreneur’s wider community by allowing her to fulfil her potential and secure long-term business success.

What differentiates the Trestle Group Foundation is its background in and commitment to business drivers, both for the women entrepreneurs and sponsor companies.

The Partnership Program provides a platform for leading organisations – and their executives – to engage, give back and directly affect opportunities for the women-led businesses. Additionally, sponsors can address numerous social and business challenges, while simultaneously reinforcing the company’s established core business objectives and values.

Partnership Program Goals and Objectives:

• Through executive coaching and collaborative team support, identify, address and overcome the core challenges that limit the woman entrepreneur’s ability to effectively grow her enterprise.
• Build entrepreneurial partnerships, enriching cross-cultural learning experiences and life-long relationships across the world.
• Provoke change by supporting women-led businesses – a driving force behind economic growth and social progress in emerging economies.
• Create sustainable opportunities, measurable results, role models and replicable business models for future women entrepreneurs.
• Deliver successes that extend beyond the individual entrepreneurs by positively impacting the local community and country, as well as the organizations and individuals who participate in the program.

About Entrepreneur PepsiCo
Deniz Alkan, Finance Director for PepsiCo’s Turkish Beverage Division has been chosen to participate in the Partnership Program. Deniz, based in Instanbul, Turkey, has worked for PepsiCo since 1996 and currently coordinates a team of 17 Finance staff. Deniz speaks both Turkish and English fluently and has a very high drive for results and strong coaching skills which will provide her with the perfect platform to partner with the Trestle Entrepreneur.

About Entrepreneur Partner
Nur Begen is the owner of the brand Organicera. Located in Istanbul, Organicera is a supplier of high quality textile products such as towels, bathrobes and bed linen made of both organic and conventional cotton. Organicera also supplies 100% organic clothing including t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, underwear and sleepwear, shirts, and children’s toys. All Organicera organic products are made in Turkey of the finest quality cotton and are certified by Control Union.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo’s people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo’s promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

###
About Trestle Group Foundation
Developed by a dynamic team of international business professionals, Trestle Group Foundation is an innovative, change-provoking, non-profit organization dedicated to creating and expanding sustainable economic opportunities in emerging economies by supporting high-potential women entrepreneurs.

For more information about Trestle Group Foundation, visit: http://www.trestlegroupfoundation.org

Limmatquai 94
8001 Zurich
Switzerland

This release was published on openPR.