DreamBuilder Conference Unites Women Entrepreneurs in Chile

December 3, 2025 - Women business leaders from throughout Chile who have benefitted from Freeport’s free online training program recently came together to renew connections and share experiences at the DreamBuilder National Conference for Women Entrepreneurs in Santiago.

All 120 participants in this year’s conference – the fourth held so far – are graduates of Freeport’s DreamBuilder training program, which the company has supported in Chile for 12 years.

The conference goal was to continue strengthening the role of women in the country’s economic and social development. To date, more than 16,000 women in Chile – and more than 200,000 located mostly near company areas of operation worldwide – have graduated from the program, which provides curriculum in areas such as administration, marketing, finance, sales and leadership. This training has helped enable thousands of entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, achieve economic independence and improve their quality of life.

“DreamBuilder was born with a very clear conviction: When a woman gains access to knowledge and the right networks, she transforms her environment,” said Mario Larenas, Freeport’s Country Manager in Chile where the company’s El Abra operation is located. “We believe that community development largely depends on our ability to support that process.”

The conference also featured Chile’s Minister of Mining, Aurora Williams, who emphasized the contribution of the mining industry in promoting these types of initiatives.

“This (program) allows such a powerful industry of global companies present in Chile, like Freeport-McMoRan, to give back to our country,” Williams said. “I recognize this work that is done not only in the mining industry… but also by engaging entrepreneurs and helping to train them.”

DreamBuilder is a free, online training program created for women entrepreneurs and launched through a partnership between Freeport’s charitable foundation and the Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management. It provides women with the basic tools they need to develop and strengthen their business ideas.

Photos (top to bottom): Chile’s Minister of Mines Aurora Williams and Mario Larenas, Country Manager-Freeport Chile, attended this year’s conference; More than 120 women entrepreneurs participated in this year’s DreamBuilder conference in Chile.