"It's very hard in the beginning, but as long as you move, it's possible."   🌍 Idea Alone Is Not Enough: Hellena Sailas and Emma Cochrane on Building Women Founders for Impact!   🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Hellena Sailas & Emma Cochrane, Founder & CEO / Director of Strategic Projects, about building a circular-economy business from the ground up in Tanzania, the realities of fundraising as a young woman founder in an emerging market, and how the right ecosystem of mentorship, networks and skills training can accelerate women entrepreneurs from idea to investable business — and beyond.   🌍 Discover how Hellena Sailas turned a childhood dream of walking on a clean beach into Arena Recycling Industry after finding Dar es Salaam's coastline choked with plastic — and how Emma Cochrane has spent six years building HEC Paris's Women Entrepreneurs for Good program into a network of 1,000+ founders across 80+ countries, the very program that helped Hellena go from kitchen-table experiments to a half-million-dollar funded business.   💡 Don't miss this episode with actionable insights on: • Starting a circular-economy company at 23 with no engineering background and no roadmap • Moving from $5,000 grants to over $500,000 in funding — and what changed in between • Handling biased investor questions about marriage and motherhood with confidence • Why HEC's Women Entrepreneurs for Good is 100% free, online, and open to 80+ countries • How a three-week customer-discovery sprint forces founders to validate ideas before building • What investors really look for beyond the idea: team, systems, and ability to scale   Two women, two sides of the funding table, one powerful conversation about what it really takes to build and back women-led businesses in Africa.   🔗 Listen Now | 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes   About Hellena Hellena Sailas is a Tanzanian social entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Arena Recycling Industry, launched at 23 to transform plastic waste into eco-bricks, paving tiles, and decking — creating green jobs for women, youth, and waste collectors across Tanzania.   🌐 Website: https://www.arenarecycling.co.tz/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hellena-sailas-00a157174 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamhelleny/   About Arena Recycling Industry Arena Recycling Industry is a Tanzanian circular-economy company converting plastic waste into sustainable construction materials, with a network of collection centres spanning Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar.   About Emma Emma Cochrane is Director of Strategic Projects at HEC Paris's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, where she founded and leads the Women Entrepreneurs for Good program — a free initiative that has trained women founders from more than 80 countries.   💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-cochrane-1175b917/   About HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute HEC Paris's Institute supports entrepreneurs worldwide and was ranked the second-leading start-up hub in France by the Financial Times in 2026.   Connect with Anne & Global Invest Her 🌐 https://www.investherpodcast.com/ 📂 Funder Directory: https://funderdirectory.globalinvesther.com/ 🛍 Buy From Her Directory: https://www.buyfromher.com/ 🗨️ LinkedIn: Anne Ravanona https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/ 📣 Want to suggest a guest for the InvestHer Podcast? https://www.investherpodcast.com/suggest-a-guest   #InvestHerPodcast #InvestHer #WomenFounders #FemaleFounders #WomenEntrepreneurs #CircularEconomy #PlasticWaste #AfricaStartups #Tanzania #SocialEnterprise #WomenEntrepreneursForGood #HECParis #GreenJobs #ImpactInvesting