From Brazil to Bradley: The Global Impact of Bradley’s Entrepreneurial Exchange Program

Every year, Empowering Women Globally (EWG) pairs women entrepreneurs with university students to elevate their entrepreneurship skills through mentorship, cooperation, team-building and lots of dedication. Bradley became the global hub for EWG almost two years ago and serves as the destination for students from partner schools to expand their innovative mindsets. This year, eight students from Brazil came to BU to further their entrepreneurial dreams.

Here’s The Pitch

Empowering Women Globally (EWG) and Bradley University are partnered with ESPM, a business school located in São Paulo, Brazil. The school was founded in 1951 and since then, it’s become one of the leading schools in the country for communication and marketing. 

The program follows a three-phase process: learn, return and ripple.

The first phase involves choosing a trainer, or a “scholar,” to come to Bradley and learn about social entrepreneurship, as well as plan for the second phase. These trainers are usually professors from prominent business schools who will then fly back to their campuses to integrate what they learned into a semester-long training session.

“The goal of the program is empowering women through education and entrepreneurship. We try to combine a formal education… with the very real world education that happens with female entrepreneurs that are in the field,” said Dr. Mary Conway Dato-on, global director for EWG. “We bring those together to better understand and hopefully create a future generation of entrepreneurs, while strengthening the current generation of female entrepreneurs.”

“The goal of this program is to support female entrepreneurs and help them develop their businesses,” said Dr. Paola Mazzilli, the Brazilian professor chosen to lead this year’s group.

The second phase, “return,” pairs female entrepreneurs with ESPM students looking to start their own businesses. 

Luana Micheloni, a second-year student in Brazil studying international relations, was paired with a woman who already had a well-established career but dropped it to pursue her dream. “The strength it takes for a person to start over and work their way up to their dream is inspiring,” Micheloni said.

Together, she and her partner worked on business growth, self-confidence and the social and environmental impact of their business. After a long semester full of trial-and-error, students are given the opportunity to apply for a chance to travel to the U.S. and further expand on their ideas.

Up to Bat

When organizers were looking for an event that would focus on fun team-building, the first thing that came to mind was WooshBall. Luckily, Tazio Grivetti, co-founder of WooshBall, sometimes teaches at Bradley University, so the connection was easy to make.

WooshBall is unlike any other sport, building off of baseball and softball to create something unique, fun and welcoming to all levels of experience. Brazilian students who have never swung a bat before quickly became experts, sending the ball flying and running from base to base.

“You don’t have to be a stellar athlete in order to play,” Grivetti said. “There were so many fun things that happened, and that’s the mark of an event or an activity you want to be a part of.”

“At the core of it is the idea of accessibility,” Michael Jirik, co-founder of WooshBall, said. “No matter who you are, your age, gender, ability to play sports—doesn’t make any difference.” Starting with a fun activity rather than a class may seem counterintuitive, but there is a reason why Dr. Conway Dato-on and other collaborators built the week-long excursion the way they did.

“It’s so important to mix classes and showcases with this kind of activity because this is also part of the experience of being abroad,” said Dr. Mazzilli. “It gives students a sense of teamwork and when they come back to Brazil, it’s beautiful—because they become real friends and get close.”

“What I love about the immersion is that the students are part of the worldwide community,” said Dr. Mazzilli. “They’re not just here to take the class, they really feel like they’re a part of Bradley University.”

Home Run

The last day of phase three, was the ripple phase where the students presented what they’ve learned back at home and here at Bradley to professors and fellow students. The eight students soon returned home with a new perspective on life, brand new connections and inspiration for future businesses.

Dr. Conway Dato-on is working on expanding the program, hoping to host international students twice a year on campus and even create courses on Bradley’s campus that will focus on working with local female entrepreneurs.

“The exchange is the beauty of this program,” said Dr. Conway Dato-on. “It’s what distinguishes this program from any other.”

Tazio Grivetti and Michael Jirik host free demos at any school that inquires. To contact them, you can visit their website here.

If you’re interested in becoming an ambassador or getting involved in Empowering Women Globally, reach out to Dr. Mary Conway Dato-on at meconway@fsmail.bradley.edu. 

—By Hermes Falcon, senior journalism and sociology major

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