On September 26, the Business Development Workshop hosted by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) came to an end. The training, which was held in the municipality of Pueblorrico (Ant), Colombia, lasted six days, a total of 45 hours. The YABT worked in collaboration with the Nex Links program of the Organization of American States (OAS), and with the City Administration, directed by Mayor Hector Augusto Cano Rios.

With 31 registered participants, including teachers, councilmen and regional youth leaders, the workshop provided emphasis on the development of skills required to identify business ideas directed towards the needs, conditions and environmental resources of the population; as in the implementation and execution of productive projects generated during the progress of the aforementioned activity.

As part of training, participants created six companies which managed to collect, in a single day, a little over one thousand dollars ($1000); proceeds were representative of the sales of products and services offered in the region. In addition, participants managed to accomplish future business deals, from which revenue surpassing five thousand dollars ($5000) would be accounted for in upcoming days.

Mónica María Chica, workshop participant, commented that, "attending the workshop allowed me to change my way of thinking, before I only saw myself as an employee and thought as such, now I can say that with my talent I can start a business from which I would be able to provide a better quality of life for my family and my community." In a similar case, Dihomer Rodríguez mentioned that, "as a teacher based in rural areas I feel much more committed to my community, given that I now count on the knowledge and skills necessary to work with both my students and people in general on topics such as the creation and establishment of small businesses, which is so important to understand in order to escape poverty."

Meanwhile Luis Enrique Ortiz, one of the workshop instructors, highlighted the commitment of the participants in each one of the modules and their desire to materialize business ideas into productive projects, "At first they came into the workshop with some fear, but were able to identify with their enterprising skills, the ability to work in teams, manage resources and make strategic decisions and centralize these on the initiatives focused on responding to the potentialities of the region, this makes them even more competitive at a medium or long term period, " he mentioned.

The results obtained from the workshop portray the integration of several municipalities from the Southwestern Antioquia. Not only did they generate, as a part of the academic exercise, a market of handicrafts from the region, but were also able to facilitate the signing of an agreement between the mayors of Jericho and Pueblorrico, for the improvement of the access roads that allow for further business and social developments in both jurisdictions.

With the commitment of the municipal administration to continue supporting the new entrepreneurs and the responsibility of the 31 participants to replicate what they learned in the Southwestern Antioquia region of Colombia, The Business Development Workshop was able to connote more that the mere creation of enterprises, it’s strategy resulted in the change of a whole regions’ current perception over present and future development, by undertaking these ventures and it and transforming them into actions.


For more information about the workshop please contact:
Carlos Mario López M.
Program Manager - Latin America
E-mail: cmlopez@oas.org
T.+1 202 4583290