Job Digital Lab. The Welead event in Rome: women at the forefront of business
Rome is the leading Italian province in terms of the number of businesses led by women. By the end of 2025, there were 96,439 such businesses, accounting for 22.1 per cent of Rome’s business landscape, out of a regional total of 137,529 (Rome Chamber of Commerce, 2026). More than half – 53.1 per cent – are limited companies, a sign of increasingly structured businesses. Retail, catering and personal services are the sectors where they are most concentrated, and within personal services, women-led businesses account for more than half of the total (51.6%).
Employment is also on the rise. In the capital, the female employment rate has reached 58.5 per cent, the highest figure ever recorded (Unioncamere, 2025). The key issue to be addressed concerns growth. To set up their businesses, female entrepreneurs often rely on family capital, and this hampers investment and innovation. When, however, they draw on incentives and bank loans, the productivity of their businesses rises by 33 per cent. If training is added to the mix, the increase reaches 40 per cent (Unioncamere – Centro Studi Tagliacarne, 2025). Credit and skills, together, make all the difference.
This is the inspiration behind WeLead: Women in Business, the event that the partners of Job Digital Lab are bringing to Rome on Wednesday 21 October, from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm, at Palazzo Valentini, the headquarters of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. Job Digital Lab is the free digital training programme run by Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with ING Italia. The event is organised in collaboration with Cna Impresa Donna Roma e Lazio. Following the Milan event in July, the programme is now coming to the capital.
The afternoon is designed for women entrepreneurs who wish to strengthen their career paths. It features real-life stories – complete with successes and setbacks – as well as practical tools that can be put to use the very next day. There will also be time to get to know one another and build new connections.
The key speakers
On stage, Nadine Methner, Head of Business Banking at ING Italia, will share her leadership experience in the financial sector and offer useful advice to those wishing to launch a new business. Methner leads the division dedicated to self-employed professionals at the Dutch-based bank, which this year celebrates 25 years of digital banking in Italy.
Three local female entrepreneurs, in the talks entitled ‘Digital as a Lever for Change’, will explain how technology has transformed the way they run their businesses. Speakers will include Laura Ottaviani, owner of Cartografica Visceglia, a company that has transformed cartography from a technical discipline into a form of emotional and creative storytelling, preserving the excellence of artisanal craftsmanship whilst integrating it with the potential of digital technology; Roberta Borra, owner of Poignee, a company producing unique pieces of artistic craftsmanship already present in the metaverse; Dalila Elwakil, who will share her experience as an entrepreneur in a foreign country.
The Creativethon: 90 minutes from idea to action
Next up is a hands-on workshop in two sessions, led by Ilaria La Manna, creative director and technology expert. Participants will work in teams and use artificial intelligence to transform a problem into a new product or service. The process begins with brainstorming, moves on to a visual concept and culminates in a guerrilla marketing campaign. Each team will conclude with a 60-second pitch, focusing on innovation, inclusion, women’s empowerment and the responsible use of AI.
The programme
Registration opens at 2.30 pm. At 3 pm, there will be opening remarks by Rocco Ferraro, councillor for the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Giordano Rapaccioni, secretary of CNA Rome, Lucia De Grimani, president of CNA Impresa Donna Rome and Lazio, Francesca Castro, head of CNA Impresa Donna, Silvia Colombo, Head of External Communication & CSR at ING Italia, and Elisa Amorelli, Coordinator of Communication, Institutional Relations and Social Marketing at the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. This will be followed by a testimonial from Nadine Methner, the first talk and the first session of the creativethon with Ilaria La Manna. Then comes the second talk and the second session, featuring the presentation of the projects. The closing remarks are at 5.45 pm and the networking drinks reception at 6 pm.
The event is free and open to female and male entrepreneurs, freelancers and VAT-registered business owners. It is also open to those who dream of starting a business and those who already have one and are looking for new connections to help it grow.
Job Digital Lab
WeLead is part of the regional tour of the sixth edition of Job Digital Lab. The programme was launched in 2020 by Fondazione Mondo Digitale and ING Italia and has trained over 46,000 people across more than 240 sessions. Ninety per cent of participants say they have improved their digital skills, and the same percentage report feeling more confident in the labour market. The theme for the 2026 edition is “Digital awareness, awareness in the digital world”. There are three main themes: women’s empowerment, digital technology for inclusion and disability, and digital awareness and education.
