2nd APEC Women Connect “Her Power” Entrepreneurship Competition Winners Revealed

The 2nd APEC Women Connect “Her Power” Entrepreneurship Competition — organized by the APEC Business Advisory Council, APEC Women Connect, and DHgate, and co-organized by APEC Cross-Border E-Commerce Training (CBET) — announced three top women entrepreneurs and awarded hundreds of others. Launched in September of 2021, the competition attracted 756 female entrepreneurs from across the globe, a majority from Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. The event created approximately 60 million site visits and impressions, and generated 136 personal story submissions. Besides the Top 10 finalists, 444 contestants won cash awards totaling more than US$100,000, funded by DHgate.

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Winners of the competition (Graphic: Business Wire)

The global competition creates an intimate community for forward-thinking female entrepreneurs to share their innovative and visionary voices and ideas on success. The competition helps empower women by setting an example of female professionalism and ways to be successful.

A one-month challenge was held for boosting product sales with a focus on social channels. An online public vote was taken and a comprehensive review was carried out on product/service, story-telling, future plans, and social value by a panel of expert judges. Three female entrepreneurs stood out, demonstrating their capabilities and entrepreneurship to leverage digital e-commerce as a tool to combat prejudice, capture a sense of self-persistence and pursue continuous challenges. The top 10 winners will receive a significant amount of bonuses from the competition to help achieve their business dreams.

The top winner was Miram Febechukwu of Nigeria, who quit her job as a surgeon because of the inequity she faced in the workplace and leveraged the power of e-commerce to start her own business. She has made a real difference in the e-commerce world. Her story is entitled, Shattering the Glass Ceiling with My Digital Weapon.

The runner-up prize went to Sally Leung from Hong Kong, who gained her confidence in the cross-border trade area and then started her own business to demonstrate to the world that success knows no gender. Her story is entitled, Say No to Constraints, Believe in Yourself and Break the Gender Bias.

Third-place went to Nikkei Brooks from the U.S, who leveraged DHgate Affiliate marketing to chase her entrepreneurial dream. Her story is entitled, Starting a Business from Scratch is Easier Than You Think.

The best newcomer award went to Scarlett Xu, a Chinese graduate of a top university in the U.S. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she built her own e-commerce business in the U.S. Her story is entitled, My First Entrepreneurial Journey during the Pandemic.

More entrepreneurial success stories can be found on the competition’s official website. https://dhgate.glueup.cn/event/33855/#the-winners

Diane Wang, Founder, Chairperson and CEO of DHgate said, “DHgate is honored to support the competition. Female entrepreneurs are a huge untapped potential of the world economy. ‘Her Power’ competition is a successful case to show how the digital economy can help lower the barriers for women to start a business, narrow down the gaps and reinvest their profit into the society.”

One of the highlights of the competition was that all contestants were required to meet the one-month challenge to promote products and increase sales through social media. With great support from DHgate, they were able to use Affiliate Marketing for product selection, get insights and suggestions on how to build up their businesses from scratch, further improve their business models and carry out innovation. They also enjoyed a variety of incentives during their startup phase, such as commissions, bonuses, and cash awards.

The contestants recommended products to their connections and followers across mainstream social networks, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and personal blogs. They shared product links, and played key roles in the completion of transactions.

In total, 444 contestants successfully completed the challenge, with almost 30,000 orders concluded. The U.S., the U.K., and Canada were the top three countries where contestants achieved most sales. Belts, scarves, and glasses were the three best-selling categories.

The 2nd APEC Women Connect “Her Power” Entrepreneurship Competition is a key initiative for APAC Women Connect, which works as a platform to unlock new thinking for businesswomen, inspire them by leveraging the digital tools, and give them a chance to show their presence and visibility in the world of business. This year’s participants truly showed the world “Her Power” in their entrepreneurial journey to inspire more women to launch careers in the field.

About the Competition

Women’s rise and female entrepreneurship can contribute significantly to social prosperity, foster gender equality, reduce poverty, and promote economic inclusion. The Women Connect ‘Her Power’ Entrepreneurship Competition is a global campaign aimed at encouraging women to utilize digital tools in reshaping the international trade industry. Furthermore, the campaign hopes to motivate more women to realize their entrepreneurial dreams through digital platforms and to unleash their potential in achieving inclusive growth. For more details regarding the competition, please visit here.

About DHgate

Founded in 2004, DHgate has become the leading B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplace in China. Through our global operations and offices, including in the USA and UK, we reach millions of people with trusted products and services. As of December 31, 2020, DHgate served more than 36 million registered buyers from 223 countries and regions by connecting them to over 2.3 million suppliers in China and other countries, with over 25 million live listings on the platform annually. For more information, please visit dhgate.com and follow @DHgate.com.

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