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2008 Winter Progress Report
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Winter Progress Report |
| Dear Friend, |
Volume 2 Issue 2 January |
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We wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2008! Enclosed please find our latest progress report. Every quarter we report to supporters like you on our efforts to help entrepreneurs in developing countries fight poverty. Small businesses create the jobs that allow people to earn enough to feed their families and give their children a fighting chance to live a better life. 2007 was a year of growth; we now have a total staff of 11 full time employees focused exclusively on giving entrepreneurs the tools, networks, and capital to transform their communities. The task is formidable but we are making progress. With your help we will make even more.
Very Best Wishes,
Luis Tejada works for Salminic, an Agora supported business in Nicaragua that makes salt blocks for cattle. Aside from helping create a more competitive cattle industry, Salminic creates jobs at the base of the pyramid.
Since working at Salminic, Luis has seen his pay increase from $59 to nearly $100 a month. "This job is much better than working on the farm. There you have to wake up at 3 in the morning... and the work is harder. Now, my daughter's school is much closer. This is important because at six in the morning, I can walk her to school. At midday, we can feed her lunch. With my new job, I will be able to do more to support her education" -- Luis Tejada Agora Wins Dalberg Award for Innovation, Inspiration, and Impact Ben Powell was awarded the I Qube award from Dalberg Global Advisors, a global thought leader in private sector approaches to development, for his work at Agora Partnerships.
Thanks to a grant from the West Foundation we
are pleased to present a completely re-tooled website that better communicates
our vision to help entrepreneurs transform their communities. Our new Spanish
language website will play a key part in our strategy to inspire socially
responsible innovation in Central America. Visit our new website at www.agorapartnerships.org Agora Profiled As Innovator in New GMF - Milken Institute Report A new study on innovative strategies to bring affordable capital to small businesses in developing countries highlights the work of Agora and many other organizations that are building the field. Growth Report: Clinica del Pie
Roberto Mejia's Foot Clinic is a small business in Nicaragua that delivers quality treatment of calluses, in-grown toe nails and other foot conditions at affordable rates. Recently the business reported earnings unprecedented in its 5th year history. "After Agora's consulting our revenues increased over 2.5 times in the fourth quarter and we increased our workforce from 11 to 18 employees," said founder Mejia. "My way of thinking has changed and I have discovered new ways of approaching problems, new methods, strategies and opinions. Working together, we will move forward, create a huge impact and transform the Nicaraguan podiatry industry into a world class service." Jay Coen Gilbert, Randall Kempner Join Agora's Advisory Board Agora is pleased to announce two leaders in the fields of socially responsible entrepreneurship and global competitiveness and innovation have joined our Advisory Board. Jay Coen Gilbert is a co-founder of B-Lab, co founder of the basketball apparel company AND 1 and co-chair of Investor's Circle. Randall Kempner is vice president of regional innovation at the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and a former vice president at the OTF group. B Corporations are a new type of corporation that are purpose-driven and create benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. We are very proud to be a part of this bold vision and great and growing community Reversing the Brain Drain - Agora Nicaragua Expands Team We are pleased to announce that two more professionals have joined our team in Nicaragua.
You Can Help Create Jobs in Developing Countries 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 help them transform their communities and generate inclusive economic development. Thank you for helping to bring sustainable, long term change to communities in need.
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. We seek to create opportunities for talent to flourish in environments normally characterized by closed social networks and inefficient markets. Agora is launching 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 • New Report Highlights Agora's work • Growth Report: Clinica Del Pie • Two Innovators Join Advisory Board • Agora Becomes a Founding B Corp • Agora Nicaragua Expands Team Quick Links Join Our Community Support Agora |
| Forward this message to a friend | www.agorapartnerships.org | |
Alina Menicucci moved from Miami to become an Enterprise Development Manager where she will work directly with small businesses on issues of strategy.
She holds an MBA and has over 15 years of experience in project management in the private and
social sectors.
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