AE offers basic and advanced business classes in entrepreneurial communities.
AE provides access to low-rate microcredit that would be otherwise unavailable to impoverished communities.
AE provides free consulting services during the initial development or growth of the micro-enterprise, as well as free access to technology.
Progress to date
Since 2003, AE has trained over 3,000 micro-entrepreneurs, and in the Santiago Learning Center alone trained 500 micro-entrepreneurs in 2010. 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.
Awards
AE has received awards in Chile and throughout Latin America.
In 2004, AE was named as one of the 40 best social projects in Latin America by the Inter-American Development Bank.
85% of entrepreneurs said they had increased their productivity after taking classes at AE.
40% of the respondents said that after attending training courses, their income increased between 40% and 80% as a result of acquired knowledge.
70% of the graduates increased sales.
Sales increased an average of 106% for graduates of the program.
36% of alumni hired at least 1 worker within 6 months of graduating from AE.
In addition to the above, to measure its effects, Acción Emprendedora has implemented a database system, innovative methodologies, rigorous monitoring. Thus it is possible to accurately measure how many jobs are generated by the model implemented, the cost per additional job, and what sales growth the micro enterprises supported; increases in their income, the percentage completion, among others.
Learning centers
AE currently has 6 entrepreneurial centers in Chile located in Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción, Antofagasta, San Pedro de Atacama, and Coronel. Additionally, AE has continued expansion into neighboring countries including Guatemala, where AE had to close due to political instability and Peru, where it is still strong today. In the future, there is a plan in place to open a learning center in Durham, NC, after AE finished as a finalist in the Duke University Start-Up Challenge. There are also plans to share the AE model in Ecuador.
