Acción Emprendedora

Acción Emprendedora (AE) is a non-profit organization founded 2002 in Chile.[1] The organization seeks to eradicate poverty by training and assisting poor small business owners and helping microentrepreneurs grow their businesses through education and mediating loan negotiations. Based in Santiago de Chile, it is present in seven major cities throughout Chile.

Acción Emprendedora
Formation2002 (2002)
Founded atSantiago de Chile
Typenon-profit organization[1]
Location
Area served
Chile
Methodstraining and assisting owners of poor micro-enterprises
Websitewww.accionemprendedora.org

In Chile, 98% of businesses are small businesses and micro-entreprises,[2] and 62% of national employment is linked to micro-enterprises, half of whose employees have not completed their basic education.[3]

Development model

AE uses a three-step development model:[4]

  1. AE offers basic and advanced business classes in entrepreneurial communities.[5]
  2. AE provides access to low-rate microcredit that would be otherwise unavailable to impoverished communities.[6]
  3. AE provides free consulting services during the initial development or growth of the micro-enterprise, as well as free access to technology.[7]

Progress to date

Since 2003, AE has trained over 3,000 micro-entrepreneurs, and in the Santiago Learning Center alone trained 500 micro-entrepreneurs in 2010.[8] AE also mediates loans for its entrepreneurs through various banks including the Banco de Dessarrollo, Banco Santander, and the Women's World Banking FINAM. For its efforts, AE has received international recognition from the Inter-American Development Bank as one of the 40 best social projects in Latin America.[9]

Awards

AE has received awards in Chile and throughout Latin America.

  • In 2004, AE was named as one of the 40 best social projects in Latin America by the Inter-American Development Bank.[10]
  • In 2005, AE was awarded "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Federation of Chilean Industry (SOFOFA) and Universidad del Desarrollo.[11]
  • In 2008, AE was awarded the Duke University NGO Excellence Award.[12]
  • In 2009, AE won the Miguel Kast Prize for Free Market Solutions to Poverty by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.[13]
  • In 2010, AE was awarded the Atlas Foundation Prize.
  • In 2011, AE won the Duke Center for International Development (DCID) Alumni Award for NGO Excellence.[14]

Results
  • 85% of entrepreneurs said they had increased their productivity after taking classes at AE.
  • 40% of the respondents said that after attending training courses, their income increased between 40% and 80% as a result of acquired knowledge.
  • 70% of the graduates increased sales.
  • Sales increased an average of 106% for graduates of the program.
  • 36% of alumni hired at least 1 worker within 6 months of graduating from AE.[15]

In addition to the above, to measure its effects, Acción Emprendedora has implemented a database system, innovative methodologies, rigorous monitoring. Thus it is possible to accurately measure how many jobs are generated by the model implemented, the cost per additional job, and what sales growth the micro enterprises supported; increases in their income, the percentage completion, among others.

Learning centers

AE currently has 6 entrepreneurial centers in Chile located in Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción, Antofagasta, San Pedro de Atacama, and Coronel. Additionally, AE has continued expansion into neighboring countries including Guatemala, where AE had to close due to political instability and Peru, where it is still strong today. In the future, there is a plan in place to open a learning center in Durham, NC, after AE finished as a finalist in the Duke University Start-Up Challenge.[16] There are also plans to share the AE model in Ecuador.

See also

References
  1. "Quienes somos" [Who we are] (in Spanish). Acción Emprendedora. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  2. Americas Quarterly
  3. "Estudio de Sercotec" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-03-08. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  4. Acción Emprendedora, Our Work Archived October 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Acción Emprendedora, The Business Courses Archived October 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Acción Emprendedora, Micro Credit Application Archived October 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Acción Emprendedora, Tutoring for Entrepreneurs
  8. Keller, Nicole. Incubating Entrepreneurs. IADB
  9. IADB: Promotions of Volunteerism to Strengthen Microenterprises Page 4.
  10. IADB: Promotions of Volunteerism to Strengthen Microenterprises Page 4.
  11. Duke Engage Chile Miscellaneous
  12. Duke Engage Chile Miscellaneous
  13. Atlas Network 2009 Year-In-Review Archived October 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  14. DCID DCID Alumni Award Recipients Announced: NGO Excellence Award
  15. Survey of ~1000 alumni Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  16. Duke University Start-Up Challenge Finalists Archived August 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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