Tatiana Gisela Bagnis, an Argentinean living in Puerto de Sagunto (Valencia), has launched Emprenderse, a consultancy for sustainable rural planning and management, thanks to the grant and training received in the framework of the European project InnovAgroWoMed, developed by Jovesólides in Spain.
Tatiana Gisela Bagnis (Cañada de Gómez, Santa Fe, Argentina) began her experience in the agricultural sector through a social economy entity in Argentina. This entity was created by a group of agricultural producers who decided to create a mutual health insurance company to provide medical coverage to each other in the agricultural sector. Bagnis worked in different areas within the organization.
After settling in Spain, she was trained in the SEMILLAS Program for entrepreneurship and social innovation for women in the agri-food sector, promoted by Jovesólides within the framework of the European project InnovAgroWoMed, and is one of the six entrepreneurs awarded scholarships by the program.
Q. How and when did your business idea come up?
R. Emprenderse arises from the need to transmit the experience acquired as a professional in administration in third sector entities for the development and implementation of enterprises. Throughout my career, I met many social economy organizations with great people behind them, fighters with real desires for a fairer and more solidary economy. However, many of them lacked management tools to sustain their activities and ended up failing.
It became an obsession to find a way to help them, and in that search I found my place in this space. Could I be a person who gives a hand to start and support someone in their entrepreneurial journey? And I believe so, I am convinced that I can be that person.
Q. What value does your innovative project 'Emprenderse' bring to society?
R. I believe that I can bring concrete planning and management tools to ventures incorporating the triple impact vision, providing them with professionalism in order to provide them with sustainability over time. I always had the latent desire to be an entrepreneur, but I was not convinced about the right way to do it. Over time I discovered that I like to accompany people in their process of gestation of an idea, and at the same time I like to get involved in projects with purpose and clear commitment.
Q. What prompted you to become an entrepreneur?
R. What prompted me to become an entrepreneur was discovering the potential development of the agricultural sector in the Valencian Community; meeting women with good ideas, honest ideas; and training in the InnovAgroWoMed program and learning about specific technical tools.
Previously, I had not been encouraged to become an entrepreneur because I had some professional insecurity, I felt that I was never sufficiently trained, that they could not trust me. On the other hand, I never had the savings capacity to be able to invest in it, and at the same time, taking a loan generated uncertainty in me. Some time ago, some people offered me to be a partner or told me that I should have my own company and that made me trust myself a little more.
And so I was encouraged, training with Jovesólides and with the economic su
Q. How have the training period and the meetings helped you to develop your entrepreneurial idea and overcome the initial problems?
R. Both the training period, the meetings such as Winter Camp and experiences such as Agroforo Resilient were very representative on a personal level, I met restless and diverse women, with the desire to do things to change the world from their place and that was mobilizing.
It had a great impact on me because at the beginning of the training I was recently emigrated and when I went through the meetings I was in the process of gestation. The scholarship allowed me to make my dream of entrepreneurship come true, I went from being in the idea phase to the start-up phase.
Vídeo Tatiana Bagnis. Proyecto Emprenderse (InnovAgroWoMed).
Q. Have you encountered specific difficulties in your entrepreneurial process due to the fact that you are a migrant woman and pregnant?
I have encountered specific difficulties in the labor market, being a woman. It has also been difficult to think about family reconciliation. By becoming an entrepreneur, these difficulties were modified. Now I work unconventional hours and it is difficult for me to divide my personal and work time, but I am gradually managing to reconcile my professional and personal life.
Personally, I believe that there are certain initiatives that try to empower women and give them some equity. Real proposals are needed, perhaps small initiatives that can be scalable. Emprenderse' intends to collaborate with that, to give its contribution so that other women entrepreneurs can materialize their dream of entrepreneurship in what they are passionate about but also in what is sustainable for them.
P. Tell us about what you have achieved so far and your expectations for the future.
R. I have managed to have my first clients, work as a volunteer for rural development entrepreneurship (Ruralizable), make agreements with entities for joint collaboration and present myself with service proposals to the city council. My first clients are women, who today have their project underway, which fills me with pride for them.
My greatest achievement is to be able to see myself as I really dreamed of seeing myself: undertaking, in a winding road but determined to do it. My expectations for the future are to continue volunteering in the rural sector in the financial economic area and to promote female entrepreneurship in the social economy.
In the future, to work with online training programs in financial education, which will provide accessible knowledge to anyone who is interested no matter where they are. I believe that knowing how to manage resources allows us to be part of the decisions we make, and that it is not others who decide for us.
Q. What has the InnovAgroWoMed project meant to you?
R. The project gave me the opportunity to evaluate myself, test myself and encourage me to become an entrepreneur. Throughout the program I understood that in order to change what we don't like or modify what worries us, we have to get involved. To get involved from our place means to make a contribution, to give from what we know, what adds value.
Q. After your experience, what would you recommend to other women entrepreneurs?
R. From my experience, I think it is important to be a good listener. To be open to listen sincerely to the opinions of people who love you well, who can flatter you as well as those who can criticize you, because everything builds. But above all be open to listen to your inner voice. Look for what you are passionate about, what moves you, what keeps you alive, what gives you a tickle in your belly. Why do I believe this? Because it will be what you want to fight for, what you choose every day to want to do. Then that will make it possible. If you believe, believe.
Also know how to delegate, know the limitations or restrictions we have, and trust those who know. The best things happen with other people. We must always try.
Within the framework of the European project #InnovAgroWoMed, Jovesólides has worked for three years with partner organizations in Italy, Tunisia and Palestine in the development of a needs assessment, design and implementation of a training program in the four participating countries. Subsequently, different accompaniment, training, coaching and economic scholarships services have been developed to promote entrepreneurship and facilitate the labor insertion of women in the agri-food sector.
Thanks to this experience, 35 women at risk of social exclusion have been trained in Spain and to date, at least 54% of them are already working.