Medellin's Promising Transformation: “Cultura E” (as in Entrepreneurship)

Francisco Noguera — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:34:43 -0500

Ride Metrocable, an impressive system of cable cars that connects to the Metro and carries Medellin's poorest citizens over the steep hills that host the city's slums (traveling together with an increasing number of curious tourists). Step down in the uppermost station, and you'll have a beautiful view of two remarkable buildings that summarize Medellin's transformation at the BoP level: the beautiful Santo Domingo Public Library, part of a network of five such centers in the city's most depressed areas, and the neighborhood's Cedezo (Local Center for Enterprise Development), an equally impressive building that hosts Medellin's Cultura E (Entrepreneurial Culture), a program led by the city government through a partnership with local Microfinance Institutions. The two buildings summarize the character of the social programs led by former mayor Sergio Fajardo and his successor Alonso Salazar.

Today, I want to describe the remarkable Cultura E program and set it as an example of how local Governments can successfully engage with the private sector to enact initiatives aimed at the core of what we stand for at NextBillion: the power of enterprise to alleviate poverty and the need for policies that foster the creation of economic opportunity for the BoP.

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Medellin's Promising Transformation: “Cultura E” (as in Entrepreneurship)