Brenda Herrera-Reed heard about Mexican Emprende, a business education program for women living abroad, from an email distributed by the Mexican Consulate for business leaders in Detroit. She understood the time commitment required. Nevertheless, she decided to bet on herself.
“For a long time, I was an employee. I didn’t have to deal with the business administration side,” said Herrera-Reed.
Now in its seventh cohort, the entrepreneurship initiative organized through the Instituto de los Mexicanas en el Exterior (Institute for Mexicans Abroad, IME) supports Mexican women living abroad in developing and strengthening their business through free training, mentorship, and networking opportunities. The program serves participants in Michigan and northern Ohio through the Mexican Consulate in Detroit located in Madison Heights.
“We make ourselves available to help the participants as teachers, psychologists, and cheerleaders,” said Yoselin Serrano, International Programs Specialist at the Mexican Consulate in Detroit.
The program is fully virtual, except for graduation, allowing women to participate from their homes. Participants need access to a computer or laptop to complete the coursework on DreamBuilder, an interactive online platform developed by the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.
For Herrera-Reed, the program arrived at a critical point in her entrepreneurial journey. Born in Tijuana, she studied medicine at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California before moving to the United States, where she transitioned to internal medicine.
“For one year I studied twelve hours a day, six days a week, to become licensed in the U.S,” Herrera-Reed said.
Her path eventually led her to Ann Arbor and later to Rochester Hills. She founded Herrera MD MedSpa, a medical aesthetics and metabolic clinic. What began as a single suite has since expanded to three. As her business rapidly grew, Herrera-Reed realized she needed help with the administrative side.
“I need help with tracking expenses, tax advantages, and legal paperwork,” Herrera-Reed said. “The consulate really guides us participants together so that we succeed.”
Through thirteen required lessons, participants learn foundational business concepts, including financial management, operations, marketing, and strategic planning. By the end of the first phase, each participant has developed the framework for their business plan which they continue to refine through the program.
The initiative involves six Mexican consulates across the United States: New York (New York), Raleigh (North Carolina), New Brunswick (New Jersey), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Seattle (Washington), and Madison Heights (Michigan).
The program is divided into three phases. During the first phase, participants complete the DreamBuilder curriculum independently while also attending sessions led by one of the six consultants involved in the initiative. The second phase focuses on strengthening areas where participants need additional support, including local business regulations and administration.
“After graduation, we aim to provide networking opportunities through the consulate so the graduates can promote their services or products,” Serrano said.
The graduation ceremony is hosted at the Mexican Consulate in Madison Heights, where participants meet their mentors and fellow graduates in person. After graduation, the consulate continues supporting the participants through networking events and business fairs.
During the 2025 Grito event celebration in Southwest Detroit hosted by Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development (LA SED), graduates of the Mexican Emprende program were invited to showcase their business and connect with the community.
Priscilla Sauceda first learned about Mexicana Emprende through social media and decided to apply for the 2023 cohort after realizing she needed additional guidance in areas outside of her expertise. Sauceda operates Baby Time Center in Troy, Michigan, a business serving children ages 0 to 6 through early childhood classes focused on developing gross and fine motor skills.
“I understood the operational part of the business, but I needed help with the rest,” Sauceda said. Through the program, Sauceda was able to develop the first full iteration of her business plan.
For Elena Beltral-Varela, owner of Artesanías ElenitaLinda, the program offered insight into navigating business practices in the United States. Beltral-Varela collaborates with Indigenous artisans from Mexico and launched her LLC in 2021.
“I needed to learn about the U.S. way of business strategy,” said Beltral-Varela. “The program taught me about finances, networking, and business tax preparation.”
Social media marketing was a pain point that the program helped her overcome. Since participating, her business has been featured on Fox 2 News, and she continues receiving support from the Mexican Consulate through invitations to community events and vendor opportunities.
“By connecting with these women, we are able to also provide other resources and wraparound services.”
The seventh cohort is currently in phase 1. more information, please visit https://ime.gob.mx/vaf/programa/pceme.