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2008 Winter Progress Report
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 Winter Progress Report |
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| Dear Friend, |
Volume 3, Issue 2 December 2008 |
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We hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family during these turbulent times. We have been focused on helping entrepreneurs in Central America fight poverty and create wealth. In September, Agora committed to an ambitious goal at the Clinton Global Initiative that we believe will impact the lives of tens of thousands of people over the next three years - and for years to come. We will need the help of supporters like you to help us provide opportunity and hope to thousands of small business entrepreneurs. Thank you for being a part of our community, and for the part you play in global efforts to fight against poverty. Have a wonderful holiday season. -Ben, Ricardo and the Agora Team
Taller de Escultores (Sculptures Workshop) is an art company founded by two sisters, Margarita and Luisa Cortez, which promotes and sells the work of artists from the impoverished Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. The artists create figures and sculptures from wood, metal and synthetic marble as well as oil paintings which are then sold in Nicaragua and abroad. Taller de Escultores aims to develop interest in art as a profession by supporting outstanding local artists and promoting the use of raw materials found in Nicaragua. Margarita and Luisa hope to expand their business and, with the help of Agora, create long term, formal-sector employment opportunities for artists in their community, as well as cultivate interest in art among youth. Agora has helped arrange financing for Taller de Escultores to bring the work of 40 local artists to Brazil for sale. September 25, New York City Over 100 people attended Agora’s third annual New York City reception. The event, held at the Gabarron Foundation Carriage House Center for the Arts, was organized entirely by volunteers and brought together consultants, interns, investors, board members and other supporters of Agora Partnerships. Thank you to all of our supporters who attended. See you next year! For those who couldn't join us, please take a look at our new video profiling Agora's work with three very different entrepreneurs in Nicaragua. (4 minutes - click image to view).
Agora Joins Executive Committee Of Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs
Ricardo Teran, Managing Partner of Agora Partnerships Nicaragua, recently joined the executive committee of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE). ANDE is a network of intermediaries, foundations, and investors committed to helping innovative small and growing businesses (SGBs) in the developing world fight poverty, inequality, and protect the environment. All of us at Agora are committed to working to support this critically important movement to unleash the power of entrepreneurship to solve many of the world's greatest challenges.
Agora Vows To Fight Poverty Through Entrepreneurship At The Clinton Global Initiative
In late September Agora Partnerships made the following commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City:
Agora commits to bringing $15 million dollars in strategy consulting, education, networking support and investment capital to small and growing businesses in Central America to provide opportunity for talented entrepreneurs in the region to create measurable social and economic value for their communities.
Agora takes this ambitious, three year commitment outlined very seriously. We have prepared a detailed business plan and launched exciting new partnerships, but we cannot do it alone. We will need help from our partners and supporters to make good on this promise to help entrepreneurs reach their potential in Central America and Mexico. If you would like to support Agora's commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative and help entrepreneurs make a difference in their communities, please click here. Agora Welcomes Jorge Arteaga To Staff
Agora extends a warm welcome to its newest team member, Jorge
Arteaga, the new Director of Marketing in Nicaragua. Jorge is a graduate of
Ave Maria College where he obtained a degree in Business
Administration and has also earned a Masters Degree at the “Escuela de
Administracion de Empresa” in Barcelona, Spain. His academic
accomplishments, experience, and previous work in Nicaragua will help
him to educate entrepreneurs and partners in Nicaragua about Agora’s mission and approach. "I'm really happy to be back in my home country," Jorge says. "I wanted to return to
Nicaragua and make a difference in my country. I believe
that working with Agora I will make a positive impact on the development of
Nicaragua and the fight against poverty." Mona Safabakhsh Volunteers with Agora
Mona Safabakhsh
joined Agora in our Managua office as a volunteer in October. Mona graduated with a degree in
International Finance and Business from Stern Business School at New
York University. She came to Agora after working with Ernst & Young
LLP where she was the Consultant for Financial Structures. Mona is applying her skills and knowledge to help small and medium business and create a social impact in Nicaragua. Mona has worked closely to identifying new opportunities through the due diligence of entrepreneurs' business plans, while also working directly with them to build financial models and assess their market opportunities. Thank you Mona for using your skills to create opportunity for entrepreneurs in Nicaragua!
If you have given this year, thank you! You make everything we do possible. If you would like to give, please click here.
Agora Partnerships is a 501(c)3 nonprofit 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 has launched 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 • Profile: Taller de Escultores • Agora Joins ANDE Executive Committee • Agora Commits to Global Entrepreneurship at CGI • Agora Welcomes New Team Member • Agora Volunteer - Mona Safabakhsh Quick Links Join Our Community In The News If you are in DC, join Agora at Busboys and Poets on 15th and K for our annual holiday party. For more information, please contact us. Agora is currently accepting applications for our Spring internships program. Please check our website for application procedures.
Coming soon: Agora Partnerships 2008 Social Impact Report |
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