Sisters Alejandra and Andrea Guardia, both graduates of the UP's degree program in Economics, founded Uma, a social enterprise focused on economically empowering vulnerable women as a means of preventing gender violence.

Interested in finding solutions to the problem of gender violence in Peru, Alejandra and Andrea Guardia, during their time at the UP and now as postgraduate students at Harvard, have spent five years studying this topic. Their experience is marked by their mother's leadership of the National Program against Family and Sexual Violence, which has given them a unique perspective on the challenges faced by Peruvian women. Among the crucial factors that they identified as part of this problem was economic dependence.

In 2019 the Guardia sisters founded Uma, a social enterprise that seeks to economically empower vulnerable women as a preventive measure against gender-based violence. They put together a team of 11 Peruvians, most of them female UP graduates, to launch this initiative. The name Uma, which means “head” or “leader” in Quechua, reflects their focus on leadership and empowerment.

The UMA team is made up of:

• Alejandra Guardia (UP, Economics, 2012)

• Andrea Guardia (UP, Economics, 2012)

• Andrea Vidalón (UP, Economics, 2011)

• Celine Jayme (UP, Economics, 2012)

• Jacky Miranda (UP, Economics, 2012)

• Melissa Bokun (UP, Management, 2014)

• Mariapaz Pajares (UP, Economics, 2012)

• Maria Andrea Hernandez (UP, Economics, 2014)

• Maria Claudia Rossi (UP Economics, 2013)

• Mariale Padilla (UP, Management, 2012)

• Úrsula Talavera (UP, Management, 2012)

• Daniel Puicón (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Law, 2004)

• Eyner Gamarra ( Universidad Católica Santa María, Economics, 2009)

An enterprise with purpose

To better understand the problem and develop an innovative response, the UMA team traveled to Ayacucho, a region with high rates of violence and femicide. There they discovered that many Ayacuchan women possessed handicraft skills passed down through the generations. Motivated by this observation, the team decided activate the women's skills through design and trade, thus providing them with opportunities to achieve economic independence.

In recognition of these efforts, UMA won first place in the Innovatón: Reto Artesanía 2019 event organized by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. In 2020, with the support of the Emprende UP Pre-incubation Program, UMA was founded as a social enterprise and began operations. Its focus is on reducing gender-based violence by improving female artisans' incomes, connecting them to high-end global design markets and ensuring fair wages.

To date, UMA has empowered more than 400 artisans in Ayacucho and Cajamarca, increasing their income by 50%. The enterprise spans the entire value chain, co-designing products, training artisans, supplying high-quality inputs and financial support, and facilitating access to markets through an online platform and five physical stores. UMA also involves the artisans' husbands in order to strengthen their economic position and reduce vulnerability to violence.

UMA has also been working with male artisans through its “Exemplary Men” program, leveraging their knowledge and experience to train more women in the carving of Huamanga stone and the making of traditional retablos: two crafts traditionally dominated by men. This comprehensive approach is intended to involve the entire community in the fight against gender-based violence.

"Currently, UMA is working on integrating the recent archaeological findings of Harvard and the Peruvian government in Cajamarca into the cultural and historical reappraisal of handicrafts, for which it will co-design collections that incorporate the history of these discoveries," said Andrea and Alejandra.

The push from Harvard

In 2022, UMA took part in Harvard's President's Innovation Challenge, making it to the semifinals. This experience earned them membership of the Harvard Innovation Lab (iLab), which boosted their process of upscaling and expanding operations in the United States. Although they were not finalists that year, their perseverance paid off when they were selected as finalists the following year.

“UMA is honored to have taken third place in the competition. There were more than 350 applications from the 13 schools of Harvard University, of which 163 ventures founded in more than 38 countries were selected as semi-finalists. In the social impact category, there were 49 semifinalists, of which only five made it to the final, including UMA representing Peru," remarked the Guardia sisters.

Harvard's President's Innovation Challenge has provided UMA with valuable resource, such as advice, training, networking, and access to funding for specific activities.

At  the Awards Ceremony, held on May 1 in Harvard Business School's Klarman Hall, the finalists presented their projects to a global audience. The event was attended by university leaders, including the president of Harvard, and was followed by more than 3,000 viewers via live broadcast. This recognition has driven UMA to continue expanding and increasing its impact in artisan communities.

The UMA team has a clear vision of their future. They plan to expand their business model to more regions in Peru and South America, and use this experience as a launchpad for premium markets worldwide, starting with the United States this year. In so doing they will be guided by their overarching goal: To consolidate the brand and economically empower more female artisans, helping them escape from extreme poverty and ensuring a sustainable minimum income.

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