Foundation for Puerto Rico: Eastern Puerto Rico Entrepreneurs can apply for Destino Empresarial program

SAN JUAN – Business people and entrepreneurs in the eastern area of ​​the island who are looking for support in the development of new business ideas and support in optimizing their existing companies, have the opportunity to apply Monday for the Destino Empresarial (Business Destination) program of Foundation for Puerto Rico (FPR).

This initiative, developed in alliance with INprende, is one of the components of FPR’s Bottom Up Destination Recovery Initiative program, which seeks to advance Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts with a multisectoral approach, using the visitor economy as a strategy to make the island a global destination. This program is subsidized with funds from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).

The mission of Destino Empresarial is to support the growth of more than 144 local entrepreneurs and achieve the development of 18 new business ideas in six regions of the island. To date, the program has assisted 96 business people and supported the development of 16 new business ideas in the municipalities of Cabo Rojo, San Germán, Aguadilla, Isabela, Barceloneta, Manatí, Arecibo and Camuy.
Business people and entrepreneurs from the municipalities of Luquillo, Fajardo, Ceiba and Naguabo may apply for the program at www.destinoempresarialpr.com. In the portal, you will find more information about the program. Those interested, have until June 15.

“In the past three years, Puerto Rican businesspeople have suffered a series of challenges that have tested all their capabilities and underlined the needs of this sector. At times like these, we prove that it is even more important to continue with these types of programs to support economic development in communities, municipalities and regions. We have to continue supporting SMEs, which are the backbone of the country,” Alma Frontera, director of FPR’s Economic Development Programs, said in a statement.

Through Destino Empresarial, participants will receive consulting and education under the INprende methodology; a validated model with more than 60,000 entrepreneurs inside and outside the island. Local entrepreneurs will be able to optimize their companies by mentoring INprende resources. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs will receive support starting with the development of new ideas until their connection with resources in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“Through the Destino Empresarial program, we have been able to bring free and practical business education to four regions of Puerto Rico. With a structured methodology, Puerto Rican entrepreneurs have managed to develop an attractive value proposition to contribute to the development of the visitor economy of their regions. The program has allowed them to identify the appropriate strategies to develop profitable, sustainable and scalable businesses in the long term. Now we want to continue replicating these results in new regions of the Island,” explained Natalia Bonderenko, executive director of INprende.

To apply or learn more about the program, visit www.destinoempresarialpr.com or www.foundationpr.org.

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