World Café – RE-FEM Project | May 21, 2025 | Andalucía Emprende
As part of the RE-FEM project’s mission to empower women entrepreneurs in the post-COVID era, Andalucía Emprende hosted a successful World Café event in Cádiz, Spain. The gathering, titled “The Resilience of Women-Led Businesses”, brought together a dynamic group of 25 women, including entrepreneurs, trainers, experts and institutional stakeholders, to share their experiences and co-create meaningful solutions.
🗓️ About the Event
Held at the Official College of Industrial Engineers of Cádiz, the event followed the World Café methodology, encouraging all participants to rotate through five themed discussion tables. This format fostered inclusive dialogue, peer learning, and the emergence of shared priorities.
Participants addressed the following key topics:
- Invisible work and entrepreneurship
- Women in underrepresented sectors
- Digital transformation
- Women-led businesses and education
- Investment and business growth
Each roundtable was moderated by one of the women participants, all with leadership experience in business, education, or institutional engagement.
👥 Who Participated?
The event brought together:
- 18 women entrepreneurs from diverse sectors including healthcare, sustainability, technology, agri-food, and the arts.
- 5 trainers and experts from universities, vocational training institutions, and EU project networks.
- 10 institutional stakeholders, representing public bodies, academic institutions, and business organizations.
Several women contributed in multiple roles (e.g. entrepreneur and trainer or stakeholder), reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the RE-FEM ecosystem.
💡 What Was Discussed? Key Insights
The roundtable discussions revealed a high level of engagement, honesty, and solidarity. While many ideas were shared, some of the most recurrent challenges and needs included:
- The burden of invisible care work and the need for shared responsibility and public support.
- Underrepresentation of women in leadership roles and certain sectors.
- Barriers to financing and investment, particularly for new or innovative businesses.
- A persistent digital skills gap, limiting access to transformation and competitiveness.
- The need for tailored training that combines technical skills with personal empowerment.
✅ Main Recommendations
Participants co-developed a series of actionable recommendations, such as:
- Professionalizing and supporting care work through public policy and tax incentives.
- Designing training programs specifically for women-led businesses, with content on finance, digital tools, and soft skills.
- Simplifying access to funding and encouraging gender-sensitive financial mechanisms.
- Boosting digital transformation through mentoring and practical training.
- Raising awareness to combat gender stereotypes and highlight female leadership.
📊 Evaluation Results
A post-event survey was completed by the attendees and the results show a very positive assessment:
- 95% rated the event as excellent or good
- All respondents said they had opportunities to network
- Most highlighted the diversity of profiles, the participatory format, and the quality of ideas shared
🌍 Why It Matters
This World Café served not only as a platform for dialogue, but as a model of collective intelligence and female leadership. It demonstrated the power of listening, connecting, and building solutions that reflect the real needs of women entrepreneurs today.
The insights gathered will directly contribute to the RE-FEM Final Study and inform new strategies for promoting resilient, gender-equal entrepreneurship across Europe.