
Our work consists of supporting companies, social organizations and governments in order for them to develop inclusive business models and projects to support low-income microentrepreneurs, expanding access to knowledge, networks, markets and credit so that they can start or develop their businesses. We create business, work and income generation opportunities via entrepreneurship, promoting social and economic inclusion and development.
“Join forces and enable access in order to help low-income people and communities to become entrepreneurs, promoting social and economic inclusion and development”
“Turning the economy into a place for all”
We provide the following services in order to promote impact and economic inclusion:
We work with a dynamic methodology that is based on andragogy (adult education), grup dynamics and in a theory called Effectuation. Andragogy takes into account the participants’ life experience and uses problem solving and the immediate application of whatever is learned as motivation. Using concepts from group dynamics, our trainings are always planned for groups and they follow a humanistic approach, which says that human beings are able to find solutions for their problems and can change their own behavior in order to obtain different outcomes. The Effectuation theory, which was developed based on researches made by Dr. Saras Sarasvathy, see entrepreneurship not as a gift or a group of characteristics, but as a set of skills that are developed through practice and experience.
Instead of focusing on making a business plan based merely of predictions, Aliança Empreendedora’s methodology uses the Effectuation theory to stimulate microentrepreneurs to develop or improve their own businesses starting with what they already have. We work with three essential concepts: 1 – Who they are (identity, dreams, self-image); 2 – What they know (knowledge and experience); and 3 – Who they know (network). The Effectuation theory was chosen not only because it’s simple, but also because it is very efficient when dealing with low-income microentrepreneurs, who generally start their businesses with “whatever they have”.
Our methodology is divided into five different types, each one relating to a specific audience. All types are applied using accessible language, so as to be understood by any microentrepreneur, regardless of their schooling.
All of our trainings directly impact the microentrepreneurs’ behavior. Because of that, evaluating just the growth of each business is not enough to understand the real impact that our methodologies have on their lives.
In order to understand and evaluate this change, Aliança Empreededora has developed the Entrepreneurial Inclusion Index, which is used together with an income evaluation:
Every microentrepreneur supported by Aliança Empreendedora answers the Entrepreneurial Inclusion Index questionnaire twice: first at the beginning of the trainings and then at the end. This process enables us to evaluate their development in a thorough way.