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2008 Spring Progress Report
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 Spring Progress Report |
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| Dear Friends, |
Volume 2 Issue 3 April 2008 |
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Change is in the air. It’s not just that U.S. political winds are changing, or the cherry blossoms that are suddenly in bloom in Washington. Increasingly, more people are seeing the vital connection between entrepreneurship and solving the enormous social, economic, and environmental problems that confront our planet, especially in the developing world. Most now accept that there is a strong connection between entrepreneurship and development. The challenge we face is how to bring about the emergence of an entirely new type of grassroots entrepreneur, one who possesses the skills and the moral courage to use the power of business to fight extreme poverty. Building the required entreprenuership support infrastructure will not be easy, but it is achievable. We are already working with a growing number of organizations that share our philosophy to bring strategy, networks and capital to this emerging group of entreprenuer-leaders. The results of our efforts last year are contained in our 2007 Annual Report. We hope you will take the chance to read it. Thank you for your interest in our work, and enjoy the spring!
Very Best Wishes, Agora Partnerships Releases 2007 Annual Report
2007 was a year of tremendous progress for Agora. We improved our model and reached more entrepreneurs and leveraged more investment than ever before, evening picking up some awards along the way. We are building a support infrastructure for socially responsible entreprenuers and are developing a strategy to scale our model beyond Nicaragua. We'd like to especially thank our supporters whose generous contributions make our work possible. Please take a look and tell us what you think. Calzado Reyes Builds Factory, Makes First Major Shipments
In September we reported that Agora was working to help Santos Reyes and his shoe company, Calzado Reyes, open a new factory in order to increase quality and productivity and create a shoemaking business capable of exporting. Early this year, the new factory finally came on line. Since February, Calzado Reyes has delivered over 1,200 shoes to its largest distributor and sold over 2,500 shoes - a 20% increase over the same period last year. Calzado Reyes has created quality jobs with benefits for 25 people, including 10 new hires since last year. It has not been easy. According to Santos, "it has been a difficult start, with production being lower than expected and issues being able to produce at the quality level we want, but we are going to keep fighting to get ahead and we believe that we are improving every day." True to that statement, Calzado Reyes plans to grow production another 30% in April and to implement new quality control standards. Agora looks forward to continuing to work with Santos to help him meet the high standards he has set for his company. MBAs from Duke, Columbia Provide Strategy Consulting
Ricardo Terán, Agora, Featured in CALI Insights The Aspen Institutes' Central American Leadership Initiative (CALI) publication recently featured co-founder and Agora Nicaragua Managing Partner Ricardo Terán discussing the need for Central America to use entrepreneur-driven development models to tackle the region's economic difficulties, including problems of crime, corruption, and hopelessness. According to Ricardo, "conquering these problems requires new solutions and alternatives; and not allowing fundamental ethical values of transparency, equity, and compassion to be put aside." Read the full article and learn more about CALI. You Can Help Support Entrepreneurs on the Front Lines of Development. Socially responsible grassroots entrepreneurs in developing countries provide goods and services to the poor and create sustainable jobs. They are on the front lines in the fight against poverty and environmental degradation, but too often they are alone. With your support, we can build the necessary infrastructure of strategy, networks and capital to help great entrepreneurs transform their communities.
Agora Partnerships is a 501(c)3 non profit organization dedicated to attacking poverty and building wealth in developing countries through socially responsible entrepreneurship. Agora Partnerships provides talented entrepreneurs in emerging markets with the tools, networks, and financing necessary to launch successful, socially responsible businesses - the kind that can create decent long term jobs and build a middle class. We seek to create opportunities for talent to flourish in environments normally characterized by closed social networks and inefficient markets. Agora is currently implementing its program in Nicaragua and aims to achieve rapid scale and replicate worldwide. Our mission is to identify the leadership talent of the developing world and unleash it. |
In This Issue • Agora Releases Annual Report • Calzado Reyes Builds Factory, Makes Shipment
• MBAs From Duke, Columbia Provide Consulting • Ricardo Terán Featured in CALI Insights • Support Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship Quick Links Join Our Community Support Agora |
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This spring Agora partnered with MBAs from Duke and Columbia to work on consulting projects for entrepreneurs in Nicaragua. Two teams from Duke visited Managua and Masaya over their spring break to meet with their entrepreneurs and work on key issues in their businesses. One team worked with