Accion Emprendedora: Entrepreneurship and democracy are linked?

“When you promote entrepreneurship as a public policy in the developing world, you aren’t just promoting poverty elimination, you are promoting three core values fundamental to democracy,” explains Anibal Pinto, the founder of Accion Emprendedora, a nonprofit based in Santiago, Chile. “You promote freedom, individual responsibility and a space for creativity. There is no country where entrepreneurship spreads that democracy doesn’t also spread. They are LINKED. No question about it.”

Accion Emprendedora is a non-profit organization focused on improving Chilean society by supporting low-income entrepreneurs, specifically smaller enterprises. How does Accion Emprendedora accomplish their mission? By providing education, money and mentorship programs for low-income entrepreneurs and wanna-be entrepreneurs, they help build sustainable, small enterprises in Chile and ultimately work to alleviate poverty. So far Anibal states they’ve helped 4,000+ entrepreneurs in Chile, and with each entrepreneur employing about 1.7 people, Anibal is assured that they are making a difference in Chile’s local economy and society.

Accion Emprendedora started after Anibal volunteered and provided a class to low income entrepreneurs. “I was originally a lawyer and then spent several years in the financial services program. I was making a lot of money but wasn’t adding value to my life. I needed something new,” That’s when one of his friends recommended teaching a business class to low income entrepreneurs. “I realized that the hour I spent with these entrepreneurs was more valued here than my work as a lawyer.”

After four years of “marvelous loneliness” during the initial start up phase, Anibal received a 1 million USD grant in 2006. Since then, Anibal is proud to say that they are a self-sustaining organization, which brings in income through their consulting programs with larger companies.

“I don’t have a favorite entrepreneur,” admits Anibal when we asked. “But the first five entrepreneurs that joined our program are extremely special to me.” Three of those early entrepreneurs were bakers, one was a plumber and the last created children’s toys.  

“80% of the entrepreneurs that come to us already have a business and also, about 80% are women. They are typically entrepreneurs out of necessity – because there are few to no other options available to them.”

Best Energy: Providing the energy of the future

“About 65% of homes in the center of Chile have limited or no access to hot water,” says Martin Vender Acevedo, CEO and Co-Founder of Best Energy, a B Corp start up in Santiago, Chile. “This year, we plan to tackle 3.3% of homes, installing solar panels in low income housing.” By installing solar panels, low-income communities are able to increase their overall health and gain extra cash through the sale of solar energy to the government. “The cool thing about being in this business is that we benefit the community in so many ways. At Best Energy, we measure the success of our company in the number of low-income housing installations, the amount of CO2 retained because of the use of solar energy over traditional means, and savings provided to low-income communities. We are truly making a difference.”

Today, Best Energy has installed solar panels on 3,000 houses with about 60-70% of their income coming from public housing. Each house saves 1 ton of CO2, and their revenue goals are directly linked to the tons of CO2 saved. By 2020, Best Energy hopes to have 50,000 clients, ultimately leading to 250,000 tons of CO2 retained and 65,500,000 USD in savings for low-income communities.

So if Best Energy is working with low-income communities, where exactly does the revenue come from? “The Chilean Government has incentive programs for low income communities which we utilize to create our installations,” explains Martin. For new houses, the government pays Best Energy to install the Project through developers. “These projects make up 60% of our revenues.” The rest of their revenues are from old houses in low-income communities. “For this type, the government pays us directly for each house we install a solar collector,” says Martin.

“My job as an entrepreneur and leader is to discuss the mission with my employees and customers. When my employees understand the impact each action makes on the community, it makes their jobs worthwhile,” says Martin. “They think I’m crazy because I don’t speak about money. For me, it’s all about the mission.” Martin grew up in a business-oriented family, and is an avid pilot and professional sailor. His B Corp score was 84 points in 2013 and scaled to 113 points during his recertification this year.