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Young Bolivian entrepreneurs consolidate their businesses thanks to IMPULSA business mentoring program

The Business Mentoring Program - IMPULSA, in its second version, sought to provide business management tools to strengthen the businesses of young entrepreneurs and generate decent work.

29 November 2023

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La Paz - A total of 28 entrepreneurs in the gastronomy, food processing and handicrafts sectors in the cities of La Paz, El Alto, Sucre and Yacuiba completed the second version of the Business Mentoring Program – IMPULSA.

Relive the event
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The IMPULSA Program is an initiative of the Confederation of Private Businessmen of Bolivia (CEPB), the Global Compact Network Bolivia, in alliance with the International Labor Organization, ICCO Cooperation/Connection, Manqa and the Wayna Entrepreneurs Market, which allows at a national level, to continue joining efforts to promote the transition to formalization and the improvement of working and living conditions for young entrepreneurs.

To learn more about how the IMPULSA program works, click HERE.

The virtual and face-to-face mentoring sessions were held from June to November 2023, with the voluntary participation of 20 business leaders who advised young entrepreneurs on how to strengthen their businesses through business management, costs, digitalization, marketing, formalization and access to new markets.

Currently in Bolivia, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) require capacity building programs in order to generate their own income and access better jobs.

This is the case of Santa Inés Ergueta, a young woman from the province of Caranavi (Bolivia), who, through the IMPULSA Program, sought help to manage her business.

"I started this dream wanting to leave a legacy, but I felt I was stagnating, it is difficult to carry the costs and be able to reflect that my product is organic", said Santa Inés Ergueta, owner of CAFÉ SANTA.

Explore her life story.

The business methodology allows young entrepreneurs to consolidate their businesses with the help and experience of a mentor, who provides support and accompaniment on a voluntary and unpaid basis. Thus, Santa Inés, with the support of her mentor María Ángela Sotelo, was able to calculate the costs of her production process and make a change in the image of her business, both in the logo and in the packaging, in order to show that her coffee is an ecological product.

"We have worked hard on their brand, so that it does not lose its essence and can tell its story. I am very happy to be able to encourage young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses", said María Ángela.