Accelerate Women NOW

Dear Donor, 

Thank you very much for your support to Accelerate Women Now. Your contribution has allowed two women impact entrepreneurs from Latin America to participate in Agora's Accelerator Program. Thirty-six entrepreneurs representing 25 companies from Mexico to Chile arrived in Managua, Nicaragua Monday, January 28 for the start of Agora Partnerships’ Entrepreneur Retreat, a four-day kick-off to Agora’s Impact Acceletrator.The phrase Impact Accelerator refers to a program that invests and leverages social, human, and financial capital into entrepreneurs working intentionally to create a more just, prosperous, and healthy world. Agora’s Impact Accelerator provides strategic consulting services to its entrepreneurs, prepares them for investment, and connects them to impact investors around the globe. The ultimate goal of the Accelerator is to help companies scale businesses that are creating positive impact. These aren’t your average entrepreneurs. They’re cut from different fabric than “traditional entrepreneurship.” They are solving critical social, economic, and environmental problems in their communities through their businesses. From producing high-quality housewares from recycled materials using bottom-of-the-pyramid artisans in Mexico to growing sustainable cacao in the mountains of Belize, to leveraging user’s social networks to promote environmentally friendly behavior through an app in Uruguay, these entrepreneurs are collectively redefining the term entrepreneurship. Your donation allowed two women entrepreners, Gabriela Flores and Sasha de Beausset, to participate in the Accelerator 2013 Class. Agora’s Class of 2013 contains 27 companies from 13 countries, 9 industries, and 10 areas of impact. The class, as a whole, represents over $7 million in sales, more than 475 employees, and seeks approximately $20 million in investment. One particular point of interest revolves around the heavy participation of women in this year’s class; 44% of the participating companies are owned or co-owned by women. Together, we are building a community of entrepreneurs who are working to build businesses that create positive change in the world