Panama 2024 Case Study

Supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs in Panama City to overcome barriers through workshops in entrepreneurship and one-on-one mentorship

TL;DR

Venture 2 Impact (V2I) partnered with the FSC Indigenous Foundation (FSC-IF) to support Indigenous entrepreneurs in Panama City, Central America, through a skills-based volunteering initiative. This collaboration led to a three-week program involving 34 volunteers from companies such as Google, Netflix, DocuSign, Salesforce, Visa, Apple, Checkr, Habu, Workday, and Life 360. The initiative included daily workshops on Business & Entrepreneurship and provided one-on-one mentoring sessions in key areas such as sales, digital marketing, and finance. Designed to help Indigenous entrepreneurs overcome significant challenges like limited access to credit and scarce economic resources, the program aimed to enhance their businesses. V2I employed a human-centered design approach to customize the curriculum and mentorship according to the specific needs identified through discussions and surveys with the entrepreneurs. In total, 17 entrepreneurs from 11 enterprises participated, with women comprising 13 of the participants.

THE CHALLENGE

How can we support Indigenous entrepreneurs, located in Panama City, to overcome their largest barriers in business and entrepreneurship through educational workshops and one-on-one mentorship?

THE INNOVATION

Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs

V2I collaborated with the FSC Indigenous Foundation through the USAID and FSC-funded Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD) Program to organize a three-week, skills-based volunteering program in Panama City, Central America, aimed at providing entrepreneurship training to Indigenous entrepreneurs. This program was facilitated in support of FSC Indigenous Foundation’s recognition that Indigenous peoples, globally, face various challenges including limited access to justice due to structural violence, criminalization and murder of Indigenous leaders, land dispossession from historical and ongoing colonization, and escalating poverty due to limited development opportunities, education, and technology. The FSC-IF believes that enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ technical, organizational, and managerial skills consistently over the long term will empower them to better engage with national governments and the private sector for mutual benefits.

Those Involved

The program brought together 34 volunteers from companies such as Google, Netflix, DocuSign, Salesforce, Visa, Apple, Checkr, Habu, Workday, and Life 360, who conducted daily Business & Entrepreneurship workshops and provided 12 one-on-one mentoring sessions to 17 entrepreneurs, 13 of which were women, from 11 enterprises. These entrepreneurs are part of various Indigenous Peoples including Guna, Embera, Wounaan, and Ngäbe-Buglé, and were involved in sectors such as tourism/ecotourism, food and beverage, handicrafts, gastronomy, transport, and fashion and design, striving to overcome significant challenges.

Participant Selection

Prior to selecting eligible participants for the program, the selection criteria was strategically coordinated with various Indigenous Peoples Organizations supported by the FSC-IF in Panama. The Advisory Committee of Indigenous Women of Panama (CAMIP), key in implementing the Economic Empowerment Plan for the Indigenous Peoples of Panama (PEMIP), was instrumental in identifying women entrepreneurs for the program. Furthermore, coordination with strategic partners like the General Congress of the Guna Indigenous People allowed the FSC-IF to connect with Indigenous business initiatives related to tourism and coconut oil production to learn more about the potential participants and spread awareness of the program.

Learning the Local Context

To conduct further discovery, V2I staff visited the FSC Indigenous Foundation’s headquarters in Panama City, Panama, in August of 2023 to meet directly with Indigenous entrepreneurs and define the main components of their future programming using a human-centered design approach. Insights from discussions and surveys indicated that the entrepreneurs needed the most support in areas such as sales and business strategy, digital marketing, technology and digitization, budgeting and finance, and human resources.

Armed with knowledge from these various resources, volunteers developed an introductory Business & Entrepreneurship curriculum. They also participated in workshops to gain cultural awareness and received guidance from the FSC Indigenous Foundation team and partners on effectively working with Indigenous Peoples.

Cultural Exchange

Mentors visited a local Indigenous community before the workshops commenced to participate in an Indigenous ceremony and learn about the culture and tourism promotion efforts. This experience deepened their understanding of the importance of collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and highlighted a women-led tourism and handicrafts enterprise.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The curriculum was delivered through daily in-person workshops from February 27 to March 15, with each week bringing a new group of volunteers serving as professional consultants. These volunteers also conducted one-on-one mentoring sessions, providing direct support to Indigenous entrepreneurs to help enhance their businesses. The objectives of supporting the Indigenous entrepreneurs included:

THE IMPACT

The program also promoted networking and collaboration amongst the Indigenous entrepreneurs and supported the sales of their businesses through product and service fairs held at the end of the training.

VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK

INDIGENOUS ENTREPRENEURS FEEDBACK

From our Partner

“This program and this partnership with Venture 2 Impact and the participation of the international volunteers have been wonderful and represent one of the most important achievements in the actions that FSC Indigenous Foundation is promoting to build the capacities and develop the economic models of Indigenous Peoples. For instance, our organization identifies the following achievements of this program:

PARTNER CONTEXT

Venture 2 Impact (V2I) was first introduced to the team at the FSC Indigenous Foundation through our corporate partner, DocuSign, in 2022. During this initial introduction, DocuSign requested that we engage FSC-IF in a virtual volunteer alliance project that would support their organization to digitize their manual processes. After months of co-creation and collaboration alongside the FSC-IF, both of our organizations agreed that, due to our shared values and successful partnership, we would begin exploring further opportunities for collaboration including an in-person program to work directly with Indigenous entrepreneurs who are currently supported by the FSC-IF. This partnership was further solidified through the establishment of an inter-organizational Memorandum of Understanding, signed by both parties in April 2023.

About the FSC-IF

The Forest Stewardship Council Indigenous Foundation (FSC-IF) is an Indigenous-led global organization registered as a non-profit in the Republic of Panama. Since its establishment, they have worked to fulfill their mission of elevating Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in their contribution to the protection of Mother Earth and recognizing them as providers of solutions to global challenges, promoting sustainable self-determination of their territories in line with Indigenous ancestral knowledge, customary rights, and cosmovision as core pillars for their long-term self-governance and self-reliance objectives.

About IPARD

The Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD) is a global development alliance implemented by the FSC-IF convening multi-sector partners to create long-term solutions with and for Indigenous Peoples. It was created and is currently funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) with private sector partners.

About venture 2 impact

Venture 2 Impact connects skilled volunteers with nonprofits and charitable organizations to support and scale their work and will be supporting with the facilitation of this collaboration.

Venture 2 Impact uses design thinking and human centered design to solve complex challenges by linking global communities to skilled volunteers. V2I leverages untapped skills to create lasting impact. Through education, economic development, and empowerment projects, V2I works to equip NGOs, participants, and volunteers with skills, resources, and knowledge to advance gender equity, economic opportunity, and well-being.

Case studies about Venture 2 Impact’s engagement with non-profits and skills-based volunteers can be found here.

SDGs

Follow Us
Stay updated with our latest news online.

Application Form