WEConnect International

05/27/2026

What would you say if you had 3 minutes in front of global buyers, corporate leaders, and partners?

WEConnect International is now accepting applications for the WEPitch: Global Supplier Showcase at International Day on June 18!

This is your opportunity to showcase your business, sharpen your story, and gain real-time feedback from buyers and business leaders on how your company and value proposition resonate.

Are you the right fit? We're looking for WBEs (certified by WEConnect International or WBENC) who bring:
▫️A unique product or service with a differentiated value proposition
▫️Bold innovation, sustainability, or high-impact technology
▫️A track record of empowering communities
▫️Scalability and readiness to serve global markets

Submit your application with a 1–10-page pitch deck or company profile describing your business, the problem you solve, and what you hope to gain. Applications are due by June 3. Finalists will be notified June 5.

👉 Apply here: https://hubs.la/Q04j0b1G0

Not yet registered to attend International Day? Grab your ticket here: https://hubs.la/Q04h_VJm0

05/21/2026

From our position connecting 180+ member buyers with women-owned businesses across 144 markets, the pattern is clear. The companies with the most resilient and competitive supply chains have something in common: they localize. Wherever they operate in the world, they invest in identifying and building relationships with qualified local suppliers embedded in those markets.

What's often less discussed is what happens downstream when a regional supplier wins a contract. A local business hires locally, buys locally, banks locally. The contract feeds an ecosystem rather than extracting from one, and that ecosystem's resilience compounds.

Our CEO and Co-Founder Elizabeth A. Vazquez shares what two decades of connecting global buyers and suppliers has taught us about what actually builds supply chain strength.

Read the full piece in Forbes: https://hubs.la/Q04hjksV0

05/20/2026

This is what International Day looks like. ✨

Our primary global gathering of the year — women-owned businesses and global buyers coming together in one room with purpose. The peer connections, the candid conversations, the energy of being surrounded by women building businesses across every border.

This is the community showing up for each other.

June 18 is less than a month away, and spots are filling up. If you've been thinking about it, now is the time to join!

📍 Salt Lake City | June 18, 2026
🔗 Register here: https://hubs.la/Q04hhW-h0

05/12/2026

New from Elizabeth Vazquez in Forbes:

"AI is a powerful tool for procurement, and it is getting more powerful. But the businesses and buyers who will gain the most from it are the ones who understand its limits as clearly as its capabilities — and who invest in the human infrastructure that technology, for all its reach, still cannot replace."

Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeseq/2026/05/11/ai-will-transform-procurement-but-it-cant-do-this/

AI systems deployed to identify and evaluate suppliers are only as good as the data they’re trained on/can access. In-person infrastructure builds business connections.

05/06/2026

We recently wrapped our first regional summit of the year in Mombasa, Kenya.

And THIS is what it looks like when ambitious women entrepreneurs and global buyers get in the same room. 👇

Women business owners. Multinational buyers. Investors. Government leaders. Together, doing what we do everywhere we go: open doors, build relationships, and bring the Power of Access to life.

Thank you to our Africa Regional Summit partners ExxonMobil, Accenture, MSD, and Cushman & Wakefield for making this work possible.

The conversations started in Mombasa will continue long after the event ended, strengthening connections across the region and reinforcing the growing momentum for women-owned businesses throughout Africa.

05/05/2026

New market access opportunities are opening for women-owned businesses in Uzbekistan and Central Asia! ✨

We're excited to be partnering with Hamroh - Women's Entrepreneurship Support Company to connect women entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan with corporate buyers, certification pathways, and supplier development programs designed for real participation in supply chains.

➡️ The partnership is expected to support the launch of the first internationally recognized WBE Certification pathway in Uzbekistan, while supporting regional cooperation across Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

🔗 Read more about what we aim accomplish together here: https://hubs.la/Q04fpzkM0

05/04/2026

Our 2025 Annual Report is out and the data is clear:

Access changes everything.

In a year marked by shifting global trade dynamics, our network continued to deliver. We worked with women entrepreneurs across 144 markets, facilitated over 17,000 business connections, and trained more than 20,800 women. We hosted 300+ events and convenings, and engaged 180 member buyers committed to building supply chains that are not only stronger, but more resilient. In a survey of women-owned businesses in our network, 70% reported increased business revenue, and 59% said they hired more people.

These are not just numbers. They are companies scaled, contracts won, and jobs created. They represent the compounding power of access—to markets, to knowledge, to connections, and to opportunity.

See the full picture in our 2025 Annual Report:
🔗 https://hubs.la/Q04ffJM90

04/30/2026

She looked at a pile of mandarin peels, crab shells, and durian husks — and saw the future of sustainable packaging. 🍊

Meet Didi Gan, founder of N&E Innovations and creator of ViKang, a patented antimicrobial material made from upcycled food waste that is now used in packaging and coatings around the world.

Her story started at a Chinese New Year table in 2020. It’s going global.

Read her story: https://hubs.la/Q04d-Hmb0

04/20/2026

The most valuable business relationship in your network might be one you haven't made yet. 🌍

International Day 2026 is where that changes!

Join us June 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where women-owned businesses and multinational buyers will come together from around the world for one intentional day of connection that crosses borders and creates opportunity.

Whether you're a supplier ready to expand into new markets or a buyer looking for your next great partner: this is the room to be in.

🚨 Early bird pricing ends May 1!

Spots are limited. Make sure you're in the room. Register today: https://hubs.la/Q04cN05n0

04/16/2026

When the Canadian federal government needed sustainable merchandise for G7 delegates, they turned to Eco Loco, a Quebec-based, women-owned sustainable products company founded by Genevieve St-Amour.

The textile was knitted in Montreal. Labels, printing, and assembly were completed within Quebec. Every step designed to maximize local impact and minimize environmental footprint.

Demand for trusted, locally made, sustainably produced alternatives isn’t slowing down. Eco Loco is on track to double its revenue this year — and plans to do it again next year.

That's the hashtag : women-owned businesses at the forefront of where responsible sourcing is headed.

Read the full story: https://hubs.la/Q04ck4Nf0