Credit: Acceso
CHAPTERS - Central America and Mexico
Central America and Mexico

The Central America and Mexico (CAM) chapter is headquartered in Mexico City and covers Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.

This content is also available in: Español

About the chapter
The CAM chapter works to create a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region.

The chapter leverages ANDE’s global connections to strengthen the local network, foster stronger relationships, and encourage collaboration among members and other local actors. The chapter focuses on developing local research projects, building local capacity, catalyzing collaboration opportunities, and creating knowledge sharing spaces through workshops, peer learning events, roundtables, and other events.

Chapter Activities

Networking and fostering connections: Regular chapter events, both formal and informal, provide time for ANDE members to network, learn, and share best practices. They include member meetings, happy hours, webinars, pop up meetings, and workshops on different themes. We also facilitate tailored introductions and connections among members to foster collaborations and partnerships among practitioners in the SGB ecosystem and strengthen the ecosystem through the region.

Knowledge sharing: The chapter shares regular updates, including upcoming opportunities, events, and publications, with SGB stakeholders active in the region through a public newsletter, chapter updates for members, and regular promotion on our social media and other channels. We also promote members as speakers at diverse regional and global events. We are always eager to partner to tell the story of SGBs and our members’ work.

Research: Our research initiatives build the knowledge base for SGB support organizations to improve their effectiveness and create thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems. ANDE conducts both high level and specialized regional research on SGB networks and trends, which provide major value to our members. Some of our recent research work relevant to the region includes rural ecosystem snapshots, a biannual report on impact investing in Latin America, and analysis of our Global Accelerator Learning Initiative data for Mexico and Central America.

Funding: ANDE provides regular funding opportunities to both members and non-members to both drive greater resources to organizations supporting SGBs in developing economies and ensure ANDE member expertise is leveraged efficiently. Funding opportunities are meant to spur more creative and collaborative investments in SGBs and uncover how SGBs contribute to poverty alleviation and economic growth.

Learning and training: The chapter convenes learning groups on various topics, including ICT for SGBs, gender equality, impact measurement and management, and financial inclusion, and has led specialized trainings on metrics, impact investing, and more. ANDE has a particular focus on promoting impact measurement and management among the network. We encourage knowledge sharing, support the adoption of a common language to measure performance, and encourage exploration of new methods and tools to enable more efficient and useful measurement practices.

CAM Walmartproject Credit Root Capital
Project Spotlight
Partnership for Inclusive and Sustainable SGBs

This project aims to better understand the support available to SGBs in rural entrepreneurship ecosystems and across agriculture value chains in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico. It will strengthen SGBs and intermediaries in their core business capacities using a gender lens approach that integrates the needs of women as employees, leaders, and a vital customer segment to drive growth in their businesses. The partnership will also improve the knowledge base of SGB sector practitioners on how to best support businesses to be gender inclusive and sustainable.

Solola Sunday Market
Project Spotlight
Guatemala Entrepreneurship Development Initiative

Through the USAID-supported Guatemala Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (GEDI), ANDE will foster a more robust entrepreneurial ecosystem to bring economic prosperity to communities heavily affected by migration within Guatemala. GEDI will develop a coordinated set of expanded business support services available to entrepreneurs, particularly to businesses run by, employing, or serving the needs of women and indigenous people, rural communities, or youth. 

ANDE has 64 members working across Central America and Mexico.
Chapter Staff
Chapter Steering Committee