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In El Salvador, Business Plan Competition Winners Announced Thursday, Sept. 4

In El Salvador, Business Plan Competition Winners Announced Thursday, Sept. 4

Published 09-04-03

Submitted by TechnoServe, Inc.

EL SALVADOR -- After months of preparation, 36 finalists are eagerly awaiting the results of El Salvador's second annual ¡Emprende tu Idea! (ETI) business plan competition. Five winners, each of whom will receive $12,000 in startup capital and other prizes, will be announced today at a gala event at San Salvador's Radisson Plaza Hotel, starting at 6:30 p.m.

A panel of judges -- including many high-level Salvadoran corporate executives -- selected the 36 finalists on July 17 from 91 business plans submitted, based on the potential of each proposed new business to generate jobs and be successful. After weeks of guidance from individual mentors, the ETI finalists gave oral presentations and presented their business plans to judges from August 19-21, during the second phase of the competition.

Prizes, including the $12,000 in startup capital, will be awarded in five categories: two for the best plans at the national level, two for the best plans in agricultural innovation, and one for the best plan in the eastern (rural) region of the country. Two additional $5,000 prizes will be awarded to those business plans that demonstrate the best use of technology. All five winners will also receive free one-year memberships for "virtual office" facilities and one term of free consulting services from CONAMYPE, a Salvadoran organization that provides technical assistance to small businesses.

¡Emprende tu Idea! is designed to identify and mentor promising entrepreneurs and help them create businesses that will generate jobs and spur economic development in communities throughout El Salvador. A total of 258 Salvadorans entered this year's competition, which was organized by TechnoServe and its partners: CONAMYPE, FUNDEMAS (the Salvadoran chapter of Business for Social Responsibility) and FUSADES (one of El Salvador's major economic think tanks).

Other organizations and companies providing financial or in-kind support to ETI include: Alumni ESEN (Escuela Superior de Economia y Negocios); Asociación Bancaria Salvadoreña; la Asociación de Graduados de INCAE; BID-FOMIN (the Multilateral Investment Fund of the InterAmerican Development Bank); Bufete Romero Pineda y Asoc.;
Citibank; Empretec (the U.N.'s program to help entrepreneurs build small and medium-sized businesses); ESEN; Fondo para el Fomento de la Artesanía, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa del Estado Lara (FUNDAPYME); Fundación para la Innovación Technológica Agropecuaria (FIAGRO); G-Premper Diseño; Instituto Salvadoreño de Formación Profesional (INSAFORP); KPMG; Radisson Plaza; REXO World Trade Center; Shell; Signo Publicidad; TELECOM; and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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TechnoServe, Inc.

TechnoServe, Inc.

TechnoServe is leading a movement that empowers people in the developing world to build businesses that break the cycle of poverty. Growing enterprises generate jobs and other income opportunities for poor people, enabling them to improve their lives and secure a better future for their families. Since its founding in 1968, the U.S.-based nonprofit has helped to create or expand thousands of businesses, benefiting millions of people in more than 30 countries. The Financial Times has rated TechnoServe one of the top five NGOs for corporate partnerships. Charity Navigator has also awarded its highest Four Star ranking to TechnoServe.

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