[Press Release] Building Markets Expands to Latin America

[Press Release] Building Markets Expands to Latin America

December 15, 2022 | Building Markets


Building Markets is Expanding to Latin America!

New York, December 15, 2022: Building Markets, a global non-profit organization, today announced the expansion of its programming into Latin America. Building Markets will create greater economic opportunity for refugees and migrants in Colombia by providing support to small businesses that are either led by or employ refugees. 

With nearly 2.5 million Venezuelan refugees living in Colombia today, and more than 5 million people who are internally displaced, the country is reckoning with one of the most acute displacement situations associated with conflict and violence in five decades. Through its unique Find-Build-Connect model and local partnerships, Building Markets will support small businesses in order to improve the lives and livelihoods of refugees and migrants.

Building Markets will build on its successful experience working with Syrian refugee-led businesses in Türkiye, which hosts the largest number of refugees in the world. From April 2016 to present, Building Markets has worked with 2,960 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the Syrian refugee and Turkish host community to create $30,479,649 (loans, contracts, investments) in transactions and 3,087 full-time equivalent jobs

“Since 2004, Building Markets has been driven by the belief that small businesses can drive substantial and sustained economic and social impacts for vulnerable people, their families, and communities. We are excited to expand our programs and partnerships with the Colombian government and civil society to drive impact in Latin America,” said Radha Rajkotia, Chief Executive Officer of Building Markets. 

The new program in Colombia, supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, represents an exciting new phase of Building Markets’ impact on a global scale. 

To learn more about Building Markets and stay up-to-date on its work around the world, visit: https://buildingmarkets.org/ 

About Building Markets:

Building Markets is a global non-profit that unleashes the transformational power of small businesses to address pressing social challenges by driving job creation and inclusive growth. Since 2004, Building Markets has helped small businesses facilitate over 18,000 business transactions valued at more than $1.39 billion and in turn, create over 74,000 jobs in markets like Libera, Haiti, Türkiye, Timor-Leste, Jordan, and Myanmar. 

Media Contact:

media@buildingmarkets.org

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