The New Competition is Collaboration – WBE Event Geneva, January 2026

Last week’s Women Business Enterprise event in Geneva was such a powerful reminder of what happens when women come together with intention and openness. 🔝

I think the real bonding really starts, when you have time to talk, share stories, and truly connect not virtually, but in person.

I’m grateful to have been one of the organizers of this session and excited to see what comes next.

Thanks to the great collaboration with Gabriella Skala WEConnect International in Europe Hulya Kurt – Vocation Architect Mako Maradzika Rachel Ougier Simonin Dr med.Mia (Amira) Simcox and Swiss School of Business and Management to make this event happen.

And of course, THANKS to all the women who joined us in Geneva – without your engagement this couldn’t be possible! 🙏

LinkedIn post

WEConnect International LinkedIn post

Women-owned businesses came together around a shared ambition: to 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. Instead of pitching in isolation, participants explored what it means to think in value chains, build trust, and form consortia capable of responding to complex RFPs. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

The outcomes were tangible:
– 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬
– 𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐅𝐏-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞
– 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬

By prioritising capability discovery over self-promotion, and by using tools such as AI-enabled platforms to map skills and identify synergies, the conversation evolved from intention to impact. Collaboration emerged not as a “nice to have”, but as a business enabler, one that strengthens inclusion, accelerates growth and creates real market opportunity.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.