From Carlo Corazza & Rujunko Keiko Pugh  

Wedu supports women leaders in Asia through mentorship, leadership development, and financial support. 

**Wedu** is a not-for-profit social enterprise on a mission to nurture the next generation of women leaders in Asia. Founded in 2012, Wedu was born out of a desire to address the vast gender leadership gap that persists globally—and is especially stark in Asia, where it is projected to take 189 years to reach full gender parity, compared to the global average of 131 years. Wedu envisions "a world where half of all leaders are women," and works toward this by removing barriers to leadership and enabling women to rise through access to community, capital, and capability.

**HISTORY AND MISSION**

Wedu began with a fundamental insight: that the barriers to women’s leadership are not solely external, but deeply internalized, often rooted in cultural, familial, and social expectations. Over more than a decade, Wedu has developed a community-centered model that supports women at various stages of their leadership journeys—whether they are just discovering their potential or advancing complex career or civic goals.

Wedu’s consolidated mission is to empower women leaders through:

- **Community:** A lifelong supportive network of mentors, allies, and peers.
- **Capital:** Innovative financing to access education and development.
- **Capability:** Programs that shift mindsets and transform limiting beliefs.

These pillars are grounded in Wedu’s Theory of Change, which outlines transformative pathways at the individual, collective, and systemic levels. Wedu believes that change starts with strengthening a woman’s sense of agency and identity, expands through communities of solidarity and mentorship, and ultimately transforms society through gender equity allies and inclusive leadership structures.

**PROGRAMMES**

Wedu’s approach is both high-touch and scalable, combining personalized mentorship with technology-enabled leadership learning.

**Global Mentorship Programme**

This flagship program has supported over 1,500 women leaders (Rising Stars) with guidance from more than 1,700 mentors across the world. These mentorships focus on self-awareness, goal setting, network expansion, and resilience. Since inception, Wedu has facilitated over 90,000 hours of mentorship and more than 2,400 mentorship matches. As of 2024, 76% of participants say they attribute the successes on their leadership journey to the support they received from Wedu​.

**Introduction to Leadership (ITL) Course**

Wedu’s self-paced ITL course strengthens self-awareness, goal clarity, and agency—particularly among women who face structural and cultural barriers to leadership. Informed by over a decade of programming and global research, the course is contextualized for Asian women and integrates self-reflection, identity formation, and leadership development. By 2025, Wedu aims to reach 25,000 women with multilingual and multimodal versions of this course, scaling up to one million women by 2030 in partnership with The Agency Fund​.

**Income Sharing Agreement (ISA) Programme**

Through its innovative Income Sharing Agreement (ISA) model, Wedu enables women to finance their university education and leadership development without upfront costs. This model aligns repayment with income, ensuring financial flexibility and minimizing risk for the individual. As of 2024, Wedu brought this ISA program fully in-house, increasing operational efficiency and sustainability​

**Women’s Leadership Academy (WLA)**

Wedu has been a key partner in regional programs like the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Women’s Leadership Academy. Through mentorship and community-building, this initiative fosters strategic leadership among emerging changemakers across ASEAN.

**IMPACT AND REACH**

Wedu’s programs have demonstrated measurable impact:

- 75% of mentees report an increased sense of self-belief and confidence in expanding their leadership networks.
- Participants have achieved key milestones including career promotions, launching social ventures, and civic engagement.
- Wedu’s community spans over 30 countries, with a growing digital ecosystem and partnerships across the education, tech, and development sectors.
- Wedu aligns its impact with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 5 (Gender Equality), where the highest concentration of community engagement and initiatives are represented.

**ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH AND FUTURE PLANS**

In 2022, Wedu commissioned Bain & Company to conduct a Geographic Expansion Study, assessing market attractiveness and Wedu’s ability to succeed across prospective countries. Based on this analysis, priority countries for expansion—where both factors ranked high—include India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Cambodia, Myanmar, and Nepal were identified for selective expansion. Wedu is now acting on these recommendations by doubling down on our focus in South and Southeast Asia.

In response to major social, political, and economic shifts across South and Southeast Asia, Wedu has identified three concurrent crises affecting women leaders in the region: the Climate Crisis, the Care Economy, and persistent barriers to Economic Empowerment. To ensure our programmes remain relevant and responsive, our External Strategic Priorities for 2025–2027 are focused on directly addressing these challenges. By 2027, we aim to enable 1,000 women leaders to drive climate-resilient solutions; shift how society and women leaders view unpaid care work, recognizing it as a critical factor in advancing women’s leadership; and enhance the economic empowerment of 1,000 women leaders, particularly those leading Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), through capacity-building, education financing, strategic partnerships, and community support.

Wedu will continue to challenge both structural exclusions and internalized limitations faced by women. By integrating self-reflective leadership learning with long-term community and capital support, Wedu aims not just to close the gender gap—but to redefine leadership itself.

**CONTACT**

To learn more or to partner with Wedu, please visit:

- **Website:** www.weduglobal.org
- **Email:** directors@weduglobal.org
- **Address:** 315 Settakij 17, Bangkaenua, Bangkae, Bangkok, Thailand 10160
- **Socials:** @weduglobal on all platforms

Wedu (Thailand) Foundation

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Curated with [Amplify Her Foundation](https://www.amplifyherfoundation.org/) and the [Women’s Philanthropy Institute](https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/institutes/womens-philanthropy-institute/index.html) to raise awareness and funding for women and girls.

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Wedu (Thailand) Foundation

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Wedu (Thailand) Foundation

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