On February 11, U.S. Consulate General Rio de Janeiro hosted more than 30 Afro-Brazilian activists, entrepreneurs, and officials at a viewing party for an webchat with Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, president and CEO of Incite Unlimited, on the topic of African-American Entrepreneurs as part of the U.S. Consulate’s ongoing programming in honor of Black History Month in the United States. Consulate guests submitted a number of questions via e-mail which Dr. Jones-DeWeever answered, on such topics as how best to reach international markets; how to transform leadership programs into self-sustainable initiatives; whether the legacy of segregation may have stimulated African American entrepreneurship; and how to connect Brazil’s 11 million entrepreneurs, one-third of which are women, with their counterparts in the United States. After the webchat, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Consulate staff hosted a follow-up discussion that touched on issues of social inclusion, women’s empowerment, and economic development in marginalized communities. Invitees thanked the Consulate for providing this critical networking and professional development opportunity and expressed enthusiasm for a continued dialogue on these issues.
