AC-Colombia, in alliance with the Corporación Construyendo Futuro y Bienestar (CFB), has proposed the development of the “Sustainable Marketing of 200 Business Units to Vulnerable Populations and Displaced Peoples in Bogotá and Barranquilla” project.

The many initiatives developed in Colombia to generate income among the displaced population and the vulnerable receiving communities have focused on promoting small business start-ups through learning processes focused on business administration, the inversion of seed capital and monitoring. Almost 145,000 business units have been supported by the national government in the last three years (2006-2009)1. However, despite efforts by both the government and the small business themselves, these initiatives have not significantly transformed the socio-economic situation of the communities.

There are various reason why this is so. Firstly, the learning processes focus on the formulation of a business plan, thus concentrating on the administrative process but not the production or marketing processes. Secondly, the training takes place in classroom groups, leaving little room for fieldwork or individual attention. Thirdly, the seed capital is limited and so one needs to rely on further support and credit, something that is difficult for displaced people to do. Lastly, the real abilities and interests of the populations, in terms of their opportunities and entrepreneurship, are unknown.

Therefore, our initiative is aimed at promoting the sustainable marketing of 200 business units created for 140 displaced families and 60 vulnerable receiving families in neighborhoods in Bogotá y Barranquilla, using a “Model of Sustainable Marketing” to improve their businesses and thus stabilize their socio-economic situation.