Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards: The Commitment to Fulfill a Dream

Since 2005, at Citi Venezuela, we have been dreaming alongside a country full of entrepreneurs – helping make those dreams come to life. Today, ten years after launching the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA), we have seen hundreds of individuals from across the country take a chance on their on their ideas by applying to the CMA, with more than 100 winning the contest and becoming managers of their own businesses.

The CMA is an initiative, funded by the Citi Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship among Venezuela's neediest communities. The initiative's goal is to stimulate and recognize the important role of small businesses within local economies.

CMA participants submit their projects through a competitive application process, where the best ideas are selected to move onto the final evaluation round. A team of volunteers, made up of Citi volunteers, as well as students and other business professionals, visit with each applicant to give them advice on strengthening their business idea and pitch. Each volunteer is responsible for overseeing a particular project, which they present and defend before a team of judges, comprised of individuals from academia, and the public and private sectors, including other small business owners. The best projects receive financial investment and technical support from Citi Venezuela, as well as recognition from local media.

At the end of the 2014 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards, the Turaradem Project, a fruit plantation located in the middle of the rainforest, was awarded first place in the category of production. Through the support of this program and the dedication and hard work of all those involved, this plantation has grown to become a major supply center for the Kamarata Valley. This example, along with all of the entrepreneurs the team has had the pleasure of meeting and working with over the last ten years, has shown me that each seemingly impossible dream can come true and completely change the course of many lives, including ours.