Acción Emprendedora

Infobox Company
company_name = Acción Emprendedora
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company_type = non-profit organization
genre =
foundation = Santiago de Chile
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location = flagicon|CHI Santiago de Chile, Chile
origins =
key_people =
area_served = Latin America
industry = training and assisting owners of poor micro-enterprises
products =
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operating_income =
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num_employees =
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company_slogan =
homepage = [http://www.accionemprendedora.org/ accionemprendedora.org]
dissolved =
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Acción Emprendedora (or Accion Emprendedora or AE) is a non-profit organization based in Santiago de Chile. AE publishes its mission statement as seeking to eradicate poverty in Latin America by training and assisting poor small business owners. [ [http://www.accionemprendedora.org Acción Emprendedora] ] AE is based in Santiago de Chile, where 54% of national employment is linked to micro-enterprises, half of whose employees have not completed their basic education. [cite web |title=Estudio de Sercotec |url=http://www.sercotec.cl/archivos/destacados/libro%20mipe.pdf?region=14 |accessdate=2007-02-02] AE seeks to help microentrepreneurs grow their businesses through education and mediating loan negotiations.

Development model

AE uses a three-step development model: [ [http://www.accionemprendedora.org/nuestro_trabajo_ing.htm Acción Emprendedora, Our Work] ]
# AE offers free basic and advanced business classes in poor communities. [ [http://www.accionemprendedora.org/capacitacion_micro_ing.htm Acción Emprendedora, The Business Courses] ]
# AE provides access to low-rate microcredit that would be otherwise unavailable to impoverished communities. [ [http://www.accionemprendedora.org/intermediacion_micro_ing.htm Acción Emprendedora, Micro Credit Application] ]
# AE provides free consulting services during the initial development or growth of the micro-enterprise, as well as free access to technology. [ [http://www.accionemprendedora.org/accompanamiento_micro_ing.htm Acción Emprendedora, Tutoring for Entrepreneurs] ]

Progress to date

Since 2003, AE has trained over 600 micro-entrepreneurs and will soon be able to train 700 more each year in four different centers through its Acción Pais project. [Keller, Nicole. [http://www.iadb.org/idbamerica/index.cfm?thisid=3941 Incubating Entrepreneurs] . IADB ] 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. [ [http://www.iadb.org/IDBDocs.cfm?docnum=894198 IADB: Promotions of Volunteerism to Strengthen Microenterprises Page 4.] ]

"Acción Pais" project

Through its Acción Pais project, AE is in the process of expanding to other entrepreneurial centers in Puente Alto, Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción by 2009. Additionally, AE has laid the groundwork to continue expansion into neighboring countries including Guatemala and Peru.

"eMarketplace" project

AE is in the early stages of developing an online marketplace that will enable entrepreneurs in AE's municipalities to sell their products to US consumers. The organization hopes that expanding the consumer base of Chile's small businesses to the international market will further the organization's goals of eradicating poverty via increased demand, job creation, and other means.

References

External links

* [http://www.accionemprendedora.org Acción Emprendedora official website]