Inclusive local entrepreneurship

Partnership
Initiative

Background

The University of Pinar del Río (Cuba), through its Centro de Estudios de Dirección, Desarrollo Local, Turismo y Cooperativismo (Centre for Management Studies, Local Development, Tourism and Cooperatives - CE-GESTA), specialises in strategic consultancy services for economic development at the national and local level. They have extensive experience in supporting companies to add value to their products and services, as well as in strengthening the management capacities of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). CE-GESTA has participated in various cooperation initiatives and projects funded by the European Union, and is currently part of the project 'Promotion of innovative entrepreneurship of Cuban youth and women in rural areas for sustainable and inclusive local development', which fosters synergies with this Initiative.

The Federación Dominicana de Municipios (Dominican Federation of Municipalities - FEDOMU, Dominican Republic) leads and represents local governments vis-à-vis the national government. This entity has extensive experience in formulating municipal development plans and promoting reforms that contribute to local economic development by encouraging the channelling of resources to municipalities.

GT CONSULTORES (Mexico) is an entity with broad experience in the creation and consolidation of social economy enterprises. It has provided key support for entrepreneurs and companies to grow and become established, and has collaborated with CE-GESTA through technical visits and academic exchanges.

The Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional (Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity - FAMSI, Spain) coordinates and promotes the work of Andalusian local governments through a network of cooperation and action, both locally and globally. FAMSI promotes the exchange of good practices, the generation of knowledge, and linkages with international and multilateral networks focused on promoting the Sustainable Development Goals, based on public interest and through a territorial approach. Since 2000, it has been working in Cuba within the framework of the Local Human Development Programme, strengthening its collaboration with CE-GESTA in projects related to local economic development, rural issues and environmental management.

The Fundación Escuela Andaluza de Economía Social (Andalusian School of Social Economy Foundation - EAES, Spain), with the mission of promoting training, research and development of the social economy at the regional, national and international level, has broad experience in training management-level staff of social economy enterprises and organisations. The Foundation has had a collaboration agreement with CE-GESTA since 2015.

Since 2013, FEDOMU has been working together with FAMSI on projects aimed at strengthening local production chains in border municipalities. It has developed several projects funded by the European Union, and since 2018 has worked with FAMSI and CE-GESTA on a cooperation project to strengthen local development and integrated cooperation in both countries.

Thanks to CE-GESTA's ties with the different entities, an opportunity was identified to unite them in a Triangular Cooperation Partnership, with the objective of promoting a Triangular Cooperation Initiative focused on the common challenge of promoting entrepreneurship, starting at the local level.

Entities and roles

Beneficiary entities

Universidad de Pinar del Río

Cuba

Federación Dominicana de Municipios

Dominican Republic

First provider entities

GT Consultores

Mexico

Second provider entities

El Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional

Spain

Fundación Escuela Andaluza de Economía Social

Spain

Development challenges

Thanks to this Triangular Cooperation Initiative, the knowledge and expertise of the Partnership member entities in the field of territorial development and entrepreneurship will be used to design a 'Methodology for the development of business ventures' to promote social inclusion and local development.

All of this contributes to SDG 8, seeking to ‘promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, the creation of decent jobs, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and promote the formalisation and growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’, as well as ‘achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all people, including youth and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value’, among other objectives.

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative aims to share the knowledge of the Partnership entities in order to jointly develop tools for the design and application of business ventures led by women and youth, as well as support them, with an inclusive vision that harnesses the contributions of all actors involved and employs a territorial approach.

Triangular approach

The local development or territorial development approach has gained momentum in recent years as an opportunity to promote human development, focusing on the territory as the key figure. According to FAMSI, the local development approach is based on the principle that human development provides a special opportunity for local actors (institutional, social and economic) to take on a leading role. After analysing their strengths and weaknesses through a comprehensive approach, these actors can then formulate long-term development strategies that harness their local resources while also attracting external resources for inclusive, long-lasting and sustainable initiatives.

Although they differ in terms of the local economic development of their municipalities and progress in the decentralisation of responsibilities, Cuba and the Dominican Republic share similar experiences and common obstacles in the development of enterprises led by women and youth in rural areas. In both contexts, there are no consistent local public policies that promote the economic inclusion of women and youth on equal terms. Furthermore, situations of inequality persist that underestimate the capacity of these groups to manage successful business ventures, and no entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem has been established thus far for this sector of the population.

Given the transformation occurring in Cuba, associated with the promotion of new economic actors, CE-GESTA faces the challenge of supporting business incubation in rural areas, where gender and generational gaps are significant. To meet this challenge, it has requested support from partners to train its researchers, professors from other departments of the university and staff in the tools, methodologies and knowledge that can contribute to overcoming these gaps.

FEDOMU's mission is to 'defend the political, administrative and financial autonomy of local governments, helping them to manage their territories in order to achieve local, human and sustainable development'. Considering the challenges and local needs of the municipalities, FEDOMU has requested support from the Partnership entities to train their officials in the methodologies, tools and knowledge that will help them achieve satisfactory outcomes in this area.

GT Consultores will provide its 'Methodology for the development of sustainable social economy enterprises', a comprehensive approach that combines theory and practice to guide the creation, growth and consolidation of social economy ventures. This methodology is designed to adapt to the specific needs of rural communities, promoting business models that are not only economically viable, but also socially responsible and sustainable in the long term. GT Consultores has successfully used this methodology in various regions of Mexico, strengthening the capacity of local entrepreneurs to develop projects that generate positive impact in their communities and contribute to collective well-being.

FAMSI, which has supported Triangular Cooperation in the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) network, where it leads a hub of public services to promote technical cooperation between different countries and the region of Andalusia, will contribute with its expertise in municipal strengthening processes, as well as in the promotion of local economic development initiatives and social inclusion of rural women in various countries.

In turn, EAES will share its experience in training public and private entrepreneurship promoters, as well as in the development of management models that are in line with the principles and values of cooperativism; focusing on people and work, without losing sight of economic sustainability.

The knowledge gained through the exchange in the Partnership will serve as the basis for the formulation of a 'Methodology for the development of business ventures'. This methodology could be replicated by other entities within or outside the region that promote women's and youth leadership in entrepreneurship. The knowledge provided by the beneficiary entities will be essential for the alignment and relevance of the methodology, and these entities will be in charge of monitoring its execution.

Based on the shared knowledge, the methodology created will be implemented through roadmaps that are oriented towards public policies for local economic development, with an emphasis on women and youth. These roadmaps will integrate concrete proposals into the local municipal development strategies and in the actions of the Territorial Development Directorates in Cuba.

In addition, a 'Local Economic Development Support Unit for Municipalities' will be created within FEDOMU, which will provide direct advisory services and establish focus groups for entrepreneurship. This will contribute to the economic empowerment of women and youth, encouraging creativity and linkages with other local actors and local government.

The methodology created can be shared with third countries in the region and other areas outside Latin America and Europe. The regional scope of GT Consultores and the international scope of FAMSI and EAES will be key in order to identify needs in other countries. In this sense, their experience in the creation of networks and partnerships will be instrumental in designing and promoting new processes of knowledge triangulation, in which Cuba and the Dominican Republic will be able to share the knowledge and expertise derived from this Initiative.

Sectoral approach - Contribution to the 2030 Agenda

Primary SDG

Goal 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services

Goal 8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value

Secondary SDG

Goal 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decisionmaking in political, economic and public life

Goal 5.A Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

ADELANTE SDG

Goal 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Goal 17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

Territorial approach

Intervention methodology

This initiative is structured around four activities which, from a complementary and innovative approach, aim to foster the exchange of knowledge and valuable experiences, thus contributing to the development of tools to promote business ventures led by women and youth in rural areas. These activities include two study visits and two workshops.

Work will begin with a study visit to GT Consultores' headquarters in Mexico, where tours of rural women-led enterprises and a hybrid diploma course on business incubation methodologies will take place.

The second activity will consist of a workshop in Cuba, providing an opportunity for the exchange of good practices and lessons learnt among private sector entrepreneurs from Cuba, Partnership countries and invited entities from Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Honduras. This workshop will take place in the framework of the VII Workshop on Social and Solidarity Economy at the XV COOPERAT 2024 Convention, coordinated by CE-GESTA. These activities will be followed by a field visit to private business ventures in Pinar del Río to further discuss progress and challenges.

The third activity will be a study visit to Spain, led by FAMSI and EAES, with the aim of learning how public policies for local economic development are promoted by Andalusian governments as well as exploring concrete experiences in the social economy.

The fourth and final activity will be a systematisation workshop in the Dominican Republic, with the opportunity to present the outcomes of the Partnership's work and the capacity building achieved to tackle the development challenge, culminating in the finalisation of a roadmap to implement the lessons learnt.

Throughout the Initiative, a cross-cutting approach to gender, environment and climate change will be applied, both by highlighting and sharing specific experiences on these issues and by integrating them in the joint work sessions, and in particular, in the 'Methodology for the development of business ventures'.

Direct beneficiaries (individuals)

According to Rule 9 of the Guidelines for Applicants: all persons participating in the activities of the Initiative.

More than 180 direct beneficiaries are involved, primarily professors and officials of the University of Pinar del Río and the Dominican Federation of Municipalities. Beneficiaries also include the professional staff of the Partnership entities involved in the planned activities and in the scientific research and identification of strategic actions to achieve the objective throughout the Initiative.

In addition, participation in the second activity will be open to the general public, exponentially increasing the number of people who will be able to benefit directly from the Initiative.

Budget

EU contribution: 113,415.93 €

Co-financing - Triangular Cooperation Partnership: 41,046.58 €

Total budget: 154,462.51 €

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