Over 40 youth entrepreneurs launch 18 businesses to support Puerto Rico

This past Saturday, July 3rd, 40+ students from over 15 small businesses graduated from the second phase of our SEEDS program in the municipalities of Guaynabo, Aibonito, Barranquitas, Toa Baja, and Vieques. We were joined by special guests who are an integral part of our Friends of Puerto Rico community such as financial analyst and policy advisor Julio Cabral; founder and president of Activus Connect, Minerva Serrano; and Leap Global Partners managing partner Roman Leal, among others.

Our students received encouraging messages from the artistic community such as musical producer Nesty “La Mente Maestra” and Jowell from reggaeton duo "Jowell & Randy" who also announced his new project, a school for urban music in Puerto Rico.

During the SEEDS graduation ceremony we honored our teachers, parents, students, and mentors who kept their commitment to the development of entrepreneurial skills during a year that was challenging for everyone.

Four businesses were nominated for the “Empresa de Oro'' award. These businesses showed high levels of participation, commitment, and motivation.

The nominees were:

(1) Campo al Sabor from Vieques, a business that makes sofrito with products harvested by the students in their garden such as recao and ajies sweets. Founded by Trinity(11), Edmaris (11), and Yadeishka (13).

(2) Harvest Your Way from Guaynabo, a business aimed at creating urban gardens in limited spaces. Founded by Janneliz (11) and Jebdriel (12).

(3) Kiarita’s Cakes and More from Aibonito, a new business created during the pandemic that sells homemade mini cakes. Their most famous is the carrot cake. Founded by Kiara (11).

(4) Paradise Accessories from Toa Baja, a business that creates necklaces, bracelets and jewelry items. Founded by twins Emilyann and Emilyanis (11), Tamara (11), and Stella (11).

During the graduation ceremony attendees were able to vote in a live poll for the winner of the “Empresa de Oro.'' The winner was Kiara Liz from Kiarita’s Cakes and More.

In addition, award-winning entrepreneur and SEEDS mentor Jose Ochoa, presented a “Premio de Superacion” for students who showed admirable motivation and perseverance to advance their skills. The winners were Angel Guerra Reyes with his business Sabor Frappe, Elizayrian Rivera Vera with Creaciones by Eli, Emilyanis Rojas with Paradise Accessories and Nahir Santos with Nahle Creatie.

We are very proud of our students and excited to continue seeing them grow into the future leaders and entrepreneurs of Puerto Rico.

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Watch the recap!

With your continued support we can continue to impact children in Puerto Rico. If you wish to contribute, please consider becoming a mentor for our SEEDS students or buying our social impact coffee, Café Ama Love.

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SEEDS IN THE NEWS!

SEEDS at ModArte al Parterre

As part of Friends of Puerto Rico’s continued support of local entrepreneurship, this past June, 12 our SEEDS Businesses had the opportunity to showcase their products to the community of Aguadilla in the ModArte festival. On this occasion, FOPR collaborated with Tayna Vargas from Tatzy, the Aguadilla Municipality, and other local brands to host the wonderful initiative envisioned by Tayna. 

ModARTE had the mission of revitalizing a historical plaza that was built in 1851 and had decayed during the years called “El Parterre”.In front of the Parterre after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s largest macro mural, painted by Puerto Rican artists was inaugurated; creating a perfect ambiance between art and culture. The space was renovated to serve as a place for the community to promote gastronomy, fashion, music, and art which culminated in the June, 12 ModArte event. This day, approximately 30 local businesses from the west side of the island came together for the first time since the pandemic started to highlight the resiliency of small businesses and fill the day with joy, art, and music for the local communities. 

Friends of Puerto Rico with their SEEDS program was honored to collaborate in the creation of this event for the communities and support local entrepreneurs. The event provided the SEEDS students to learn and observe the work of model entrepreneurs who have been running businesses for several years. Nine of our SEEDS businesses participated, some, like Sabor Frappe (a smoothie business) and Pesto Andreinne Serrano (organic home-made pesto sauce), coming for the first time from the island municipality of Vieques. Other participating businesses included: Guarda Costas, New World, Toques de Amor, Pets and Love, Nahle Creatie, Herbs and Flowers, and Friends Forever Accessories. This was a beautiful event for our students to see the impact small businesses have in their communities and envision a future as entrepreneurs. 

With your continued support, we can continue to empower women and children of the Island. If you want to contribute, please consider becoming a mentor for our SEEDS students or buying or social impact coffee, CaféAma Love. 

100 young entrepreneurs impacted by a STEM curriculum in Puerto Rico.

A hundred young entrepreneurs -- public school students from ages nine to 12 with a high economic need -- were positively impacted in 2020 by our SEEDS program.

The unemployment rate for people in Puerto Rico between the ages of 15 and 24 is about 24% and this number will only increase as "currently six out of 10 Puerto Rican children live below the poverty line, which translates into 56% of the island's child population," said Angelique Sina, president of Friends of Puerto Rico.

Based on the United Nations Sustainable development goals, SEEDS is a STEM curriculum that includes 36 weeks of study using coffee as a tool of learning. The students from Vieques, Barranquitas, Aibonito, Toa Baja, and Guaynabo created their own businesses. The 2020 Class had five teachers and 22 mentors resulting in 83 graduates that launched 25 SEEDS Biz.

In a live stream, Friends of Puerto Rico, which supports entrepreneurial initiatives, education, and creating opportunities for women and girls on the island, presented their 2020 Impact Report that recounts, with interesting facts and statistics, facing the projections through education. The report included the economic impact generated by their businesses, experiential moments with media coverage, and the journey of two SEEDS students from Puerto Rico to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City! The event featured the testimonies of teachers, parents, and students that shared their experience and how the SEEDS program has impacted their families.

Companies that believe in education

"It is an experience that touches the heart. I am from Toa Baja, and it is something special to be able to see the youth, the focus they have, and the level of passion. I see it as a duty. Each entrepreneur must seek to support others not only financially but also by sharing their experience so that others can grow," expressed Felix Serrano, CEO of Activus Connect, sponsor and mentor of SEEDS.

Juan Garcia, Vice President of Midas Education, and Desiree Mieses, Managing Partner of Lumiere Bay, Inc., highlighted their roles as mentors to the SEEDS students. They invite companies and individuals to join the cause and support programs like SEEDS.

"This snapshot of what we achieved in 2019–2020 has been possible only with the support of our partners, friends, and team. Thank you to our volunteers, teachers, and sponsors like PenFed Credit Union, Leap Global Partners, Activus Connect and those who prefer anonymity", concludes Angelique Sina.

We are developing new projects and on July 3rd the 2021 Class will graduate!

To get involved you can donate, become a mentor, invite them to your community, host a marketplace. For more information, visit friendsofpuertorico.org.

Resilience in Vieques: Angel and his new freezer

By Carolina Quintero, SEEDS program Coordinator

Vieques is a beautiful island municipality east of the Puerto Rican mainland and home to 21 youth from our SEEDS Youth entrepreneurship program from school: Adrienne Serrano.

However, our Puerto Ricans from Vieques live day to day with many difficulties. From the failures in reliable maritime transportation, lack of adequate medical services, and limited economic development to the absence of hospitals since the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

50% of the Vieques population live under the poverty line. All of them live with the uncertainty of knowing whether they will receive the resources needed or if the sick will be able to attend their medical appointments on the main island.

It is for this reason that our SEEDS program works with students from Vieques, teaching entrepreneurship and financial literacy to stimulate economic growth in the island municipality and hoping to, in the long-term, reduce the poverty rates. One example of this is the case of Angel Guerra Reyes. Angel has been a part of our program since its inception. This year he decided to create his own business of smoothies and shakes called “Sabor Frappe."

Angel is an exemplary case of the issues low-income communities from Vieques face. Angel lives in subsidized housing with his mother and sister, and they have no access to transportation, making it difficult for them to acquire the resources to start a business.

Motivation and teamwork

With the help of Angel’s mentor and his teacher, we guided the student to build his business from his own house. Angel’s mother already sells chips and soda from her apartment to the Vieques community and thus Friends of Puerto Rico invested in Angel’s business with a chest freezer he could set in his home and store the products for his smoothies and shakes, expanding on the small business his mother already runs.

To deliver the chest to Angel, the SEEDS team had to search several stores to find out none of them offer delivery to Vieques. The supplier method to ship is via ferry, which is Vieques’ unreliable transportation method. The team found the nearest freezer, and Angel’s teacher asked a family member to arrange the pick-up and delivery to Angel’s house in Vieques.

Even with all of the barriers the children from Vieques face they are motivated to learn and create their own businesses.

With your continued support, we can continue to empower children like Angel. If you want to contribute please consider donating, becoming a mentor to our SEEDS students, or buying or social impact coffee Café Ama Love.

2021 SEEDS: Mentorship for young entrepreneurs

José Ochoa, Award-winning Entrepreneur during his SEEDS Mentorship.

By Carolina Quintero, SEEDS Program Coordinator

During the last week of February 2021, we started our new mentorship program, one component of the curriculum developed by the award-winning team Biz Nation. Our SEEDS semester-long program includes five one-hour-long sessions between our 9-12 students and the assigned mentors culminating in May 2021. 

Diego and his partner doing the activity shared by their Mentor.

The purpose of the mentorship program is for adults who’ve had entrepreneurial experiences and business knowledge can reinforce what the students are learning in the classroom. They can add a dose of passion and motivation to guide the students through the development of their businesses. The mother of one of our entrepreneurs mentions “Diego and his mentor made a beautiful connection”. With another one of our students, the mentor gave us feedback about the business status of the student and it allowed us to pinpoint the specific needs of that young entrepreneur and tailor our approach. 

Our mentors who comes from backgrounds like business owners, marketing specialists, public administrators to college students. Our mentors do not have to be entrepreneurs to support our students. Just having an adult supporting and motivating the student to follow their dreams and continue the work of creating their businesses creates an environment in which they start believing in themselves and their capabilities.

How mentorship is a two-way street

Mentorship helps both the student and the adult providing the mentorship. The supportive, healthy relationships formed between mentors and mentees are both immediate and long-term and contribute to a host of benefits for mentors and mentees.

 Recent studies have shown youth who are in supportive relationships with their mentors report better attitudes at school, enhanced self-esteem, healthier relationships, and improved interpersonal skills. Likewise, mentors report improved self-esteem and increased patience and supervisory skills. 

We hope to continue our mentorship program in our SEEDS curriculum. You can build the future through education by supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs from Puerto Rico. If you are interested in becoming a mentor for our program feel free to contact us at info@friendsofpuertorico.org