Fundación Paraguaya is a leading edge self-sufficient

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

founded in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

in 1985 that seeks to develop innovative solutions to poverty and unemployment, and proactively disseminate them throughout the world.

About

The Foundation enables people of limited resources to create jobs and increase their family income, promoting urban and rural entrepreneurship through four interrelated strategies: * A Microfinance program that supports microentrepreneurs and emerging entrepreneurs generally relegated by other microfinance institutions. * An economic education program for children and young people (

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

). * A self-sufficient agricultural high school that teaches organic agriculture and business skills to low income youth from rural areas to transform them from “poor small landholders” into “rural entrepreneurs”. * An international replication program for self-sufficient schools alongside its UK sister organization Teach A Man To Fish.

Recognition

Fundación Paraguaya has received a number of awards, grants, and distinctions including the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2018 the organization was awards the Juscelino Kubitschek Visionaries Award by the

Inter American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Carib ...

History

Fundación Paraguaya was founded by

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of ...

Martin Burt Martin Burt is a Paraguayan social entrepreneur, author, former mayor of Asunción and former chief of staff to Paraguay's president, known for founding Fundación Paraguaya in 1985, a leading non-profit and micro-finance organization in Paraguay ...

in 1985 during the Stroessner dictatorship. They were the first microfinance institution in Paraguay, as well as a founding member of the Acción International microfinance network. They later adapted the

program's methodologies to serve underprivileged youth and teach them financial literacy. In 2003 the foundation took over a bankrupt boys' agricultural school, turning it into a financially self-sufficient school providing coed agricultural education. In 2009 they added a girls' school, and two more schools joined the educational model by 2011. They have committed to replicate the model in 50 schools globally.

References

External links

Official SiteTeach A Man To Fish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fundacion Paraguaya Foundations based in Paraguay Microfinance organizations Educational foundations