[Entrevista] Ecuadorian Pierángela Sierra, ambassador of eTrade for Women, wants no one to be afraid of starting a business

For second consecutive Year, Pierángela Sierra, founder of Tiptia home service and advice platform, is invited by the United Nations to exchange experiences and form alliances with other women from the region and the world, with the aim of opening new spaces for more women in technology and be part of their international and local support network on the path of entrepreneurship.

What representative for Latin America and the CaribbeanSierra is one of the five guests that make up eTrade for Women. “We want to meet and shake hands,” she said in an interview for this newspaper. Y for January or February of next year announces its first master class to share useful and tangible tools with other women who share her dream, while taking advantage of her appointment to give visibility to her genre in that field.

“It is great that they have noticed Ecuador, that the technology project that I represent has attracted attention within the continent and that we can give visibility that it can be done, even if you are like me, a person who comes from other branches, such as the Administration”.

What is the eTrade for Women initiative about and how do you become a part of it?

At the end of 2021 there was an approach by the United Nations, who were looking for representative businesses in the area of ecommerce and that they were born as one startup with significant growth in different countries, but especially in countries that are perhaps smaller or with less chance of success, let’s put it that way, and that are led by a woman. So I landed there because I had a business in the technology area. The appointment was ratified in July of this year and I had the privilege of going to Geneva to meet the other women invited.

Why is it so important today to focus on technological development?

The topic of technology is something that is growing, which we are already experiencing, particularly in the area of ​​business and talent development. If we had a magic ball and we wanted to understand where the successful career or business alternatives are, it would be the technology area. And in this sense, one of the objectives is to make a connection between that world and the enormous needs that we have as women to find spaces for development, accessibility to education and work. And, if there will be such a boom in the next 15 years in the technology area, how do we seek to attract more female talent in order to multiply this boom through the communities.

What are other objectives of eTrade for Women?

Another very important thing is to look for representative women in the different continents, so that these representative women can play an inspiring role and give visibility to others, so one of my main functions is to create communities, find where these women are who are starting to lead projects, medium-sized , little ones, big ones and how can we all get together and understand what needs we have in terms of training, tools, coaching or investment.

What needs or problems do Latin American women in technology share?

The first huge problem in countries like ours, let’s say less developed, is the lack of access to education, but then, those who do manage to access this training face situations that make them think that women are more for marketing, advertising, but not for the area of ​​technology or numbers, and that prevents them from choosing related careers. That is something common in our countries. But then we have some women who have gotten ahead, but who run into walls related to even the opportunity to access credit. When women go and knock on the door of a bank, there is a certain type of prejudice that women are not going to make good financial decisions, they are not going to do their business well, that is the second critical point. So even if you have that proactivity of wanting to get ahead, there comes a time when they don’t have a support network.

What would be other long-term goals?

Something that is going to take a little more time is looking for spaces for women, for young people, to whom we can give access to scholarships or jobs in that area. In this sense, for example, I am seeking to make a thousand scholarships in the area of ​​technology tangible and then find out how to deliver them and who to deliver them to. And that we manage to multiply that Ecuadorian talent.

What advice would you give to women who are still hesitating about starting a business or not?

I can say that there is nothing more satisfying than being able to work for what you dream of, for what you believe in (…) For me, entrepreneurship is about freedom, I think it gives you a lot of independence of thought and action. It is about passion, it is about commitment, it is about making your dream come true, but more than anything about being able to contribute with enthusiasm to that construction of a better future. Not only in terms of putting different business models on the table, but also promoting economic well-being ecosystems for your employees and for the entire ecosystem that you are building. Well, the advice is that, that they undertake so that they can be much freer, committed to those dreams.