WEConnect International is an organization that connects women-owned businesses to corporate supply chains globally. It provides certification for women-owned businesses outside of the US and maintains a database for corporations to search. Corporations benefit from supplier diversity through business growth, cost reductions, talent retention, and meeting CSR goals. Women represent a large emerging market as consumers and business owners, yet on average only 1% of corporate spending is with women-owned suppliers globally. The document outlines best practices for corporations to develop global supplier diversity programs that identify and include women-owned businesses in their supply chains.

1. © WEConnect International, 2014, Page 1
Jeju, South Korea, May 26, 2014
Connecting Women-Owned Businesses
with Market Opportunity

2. © WEConnect International, 2014, Page 2
About WEConnect International
Corporate members established WEConnect International to provide
Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certification outside the US
• Represents over US$700 billion in annual purchasing power
• Connects non-US women-owned businesses to global value chains
• Offers certification and training in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the
Caribbean, Europe and Latin America
• Provides to members an exclusive global database of women-owned
businesses (certified and self-registered)
• Supports corporate members in the development and implementation of
global inclusive sourcing programs

3. © WEConnect International, 2014, Page 3
WEConnect International Corporate Leadership

4. © WEConnect International, 2014, Page 4
Business Case - Global Supplier Diversity & Inclusion
To be sustainable in the future, companies must be inclusive in their
global sourcing
• Support business growth and revenue
• Provide a competitive advantage
• Reduce purchasing costs and drive innovation
• Enhance company brand and CSR efforts
• Support corporate clients (contractual supplier diversity requirements)
• Mirror global diverse customer and employee base
• Enhance talent recruiting and retention

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Women’s Businesses are a Global Opportunity
Women are the next emerging market (EY & IFC data show)
As consumers:
• Make over 70% of consumer purchasing decisions
• Impact over US$20 trillion in annual global spend
As businesses:
• Women-owned businesses represent 32-39% of all private
businesses globally
• On average, just 1% of corporate and government spend is with
women-owned businesses globally

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Corporate Global Supplier Diversity Program
Best Practices
• Identify women-owned businesses in current global supply chain
• Determine current annual spend with women-owned businesses
and establish a global inclusive sourcing baseline
• Develop annual diverse supplier spend objectives (by country,
region, division, etc.)
• Identify and engage local company program advocates
• Identify procurement opportunities
• Access the eNetwork to locate potential women-owned suppliers
• Leverage WEConnect International staff as a resource
• Measure success (# local jobs, impact on families, etc.)

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WEConnect International Certification Standard
•Ownership – at least 51% held by one or more women
•Management – led / managed by a female Principal Executive
•Control – key business decisions regarding company’s finances,
operations, personnel and strategy
are made by a woman
Corporations that publicly report diverse spend require
their women-owned suppliers to be certified
•Self-registration – same criteria

8. © WEConnect International, 2014, Page 8
Website: www.WEConnectInternational.org
Email: info@weconnectinternational.org
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