Impact – Agora

Our impact

We commit ourselves to fostering the conditions for the development of small growing businesses to contribute to social inclusion, environmental sustainability, the reduction of vulnerabilities and the increase in productivity and competitiveness of these companies.

The problem we challenge

In Latin America, MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) play a key role in the economic and social development, seeing as they represent 99.5% of the companies in the region and provide 61% of formal employment (1). However, its participation in the gross domestic product (GDP) is 25%, this is less than double from what its peers contribute in the European Union (56%). This condition is associated with the low levels of productivity of these companies and reveals deficiencies in the connection and articulation with market actors, access to capital and the creation of economies of scale; as well as gaps in technical, management, innovation and negotiation capacities (2); which are added to a growing vulnerability due to climate variability (3).

Aware of the importance they have for the growth of the region, at Agora we have committed ourselves to fostering the conditions for the development of growing small businesses (PECs), a subsector of MSMEs (98%), and thereby to contribute to social inclusion, environmental sustainability, the reduction of vulnerabilities and the increase in productivity and competitiveness of these companies.

If we can effectively work with these companies where they are, supporting them to integrate social innovations into their models, we can transform millions of people throughout the region into engines of change.