Friends of Puerto Rico Offers Entrepreneurship Programs for 500 Girls and 500 Women

SAN JUAN — Friends of Puerto Rico, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, announced its commitment with the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to invest in the future of 1,000 women and girls in Puerto Rico by expanding its Seeds program and launching AMIGAS, a women’s entrepreneurship program.

The social impact organization focuses on mobilizing a network of partners to create economic opportunities on the island. It develops entrepreneurial initiatives, offering education and creating opportunities for women and girls.

Through the commitment, titled Amigas and Seeds: Entrepreneurship for Women and Girls, the nonprofit aims to create opportunities through entrepreneurship education “based out of agriculture and mentorship to relieve poverty and strengthen the resilience of the communities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean,” the organization said.

The Friends of Puerto Rico program, Seeds, was launched last year ago with 100 students. It will be expanded to 500 girls who will participate in a year-long program that will teach them how to run an agricultural-focused business from the ground up.

Meanwhile, through the launch of Amigas, the nonprofit will engage 500 women in intensive business courses that include finance basics and will gain access to financing and investors. The two initiatives are expected to lead to the creation of 200 women-led businesses, the nonprofit said.

“The commitment emerges from the lack of opportunities for women and youth, who are disproportionately impacted by economic disadvantage, even with the many entrepreneurship driven initiatives focused on supporting Puerto Rico, particularly after the 2017 hurricane season,” wrote Friends of Puerto Rico, which attended the CGI Action Network in San Juan on Feb. 18 to join the discussion on accelerating the recovery after the island’s natural disasters and promote “resilience in the region,” it said in a release.

Friends of Puerto Rico is seeking private foundations that are interested in providing support to grow the programs through advisory and financing.

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