She Rises Up chronicles the remarkable journeys of three women who are helping to lift their communities out of poverty through the local businesses they fight the odds to maintain. Gladys Yupanqui of Peru founded a mini-market and is looking to expand. Magatte Wade of Senegal is building a cosmetics manufacturing company. Selyna Peiris of Sri Lanka is expanding the textile company founded by her mother.

Nearly one-third of all countries have laws that stifle a woman’s access to work. They limit access to bank accounts, property inheritance, and many types of jobs. These countries have some of the highest poverty rates in the world.

Gladys, Magatte and Selyna’s stories are each unique unto themselves. Yet a common theme illustrates the critical importance of local businesses to emerging economies. These women prevail over issues that are not faced by the multinational corporations that come in. Opening a business in many countries is easier for a large foreign corporation than for local entrepreneurs.

McKinsey & Company has calculated that if women were to participate in the world economy to the same extent as men, they would add the equivalent of the combined economies of China and the U.S. to the world’s prosperity.

She Rises Up reveals the role entrepreneurs and small businesses can play in women gaining financial independence, and ultimately reducing poverty for all. 

About the speaker: 

Maureen (Mo) Castle Tusty and her partner founded Sky Films Inc. in 2008 in order to produce documentary films that inform, uplift and inspire. Their first feature film, The Singing Revolution, was released theatrically in over 100 North American markets. The New York Times declared the film a coveted “Critic’s Choice” and wrote “Imagine the scene in Casablanca in which the French patrons sing La Marseillaise in defiance of the Germans, then multiply its power by a factor of thousands, and you’ve only begun to imagine the force of The Singing Revolution.” Mo went on to direct subsequent documentaries such as India Awakes, To Breathe As One, Sweden: Lessons for America?, Trailblazers: The New Zealand Story, and Corporate Welfare: Where’s the Outrage?; all having aired nationally on U.S. Public Television and throughout Europe.

Mo’s latest film, SHE RISES UP, is currently in distribution, having played in theaters across the US, on PBS and slated for worldwide distribution in late-2026. SHE RISES UP chronicles the remarkable journeys of three women in Senegal, Peru and Sri Lanka working against all odds to lift their communities out of poverty through the local businesses they own. Their heartfelt stories reveal the explosive implication of women’s economic participation, and the role entrepreneurs and small businesses play in women gaining financial independence, ultimately reducing poverty for all.

For many years prior, Mo specialized in international productions for some of the largest corporations in the world such as Coca-Cola, IBM, and GE. Recognized with scores of awards, that work took her to over 60 countries around the world. That experience led her to pursue films that take place in many remote corners of the world; sharing stories and voices that might not otherwise be heard.

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