Enterprise Development and Job Skills

Enterprise development and job skills matter

At the IAF, we work to build and develop thriving communities, successful enterprises, and strong grassroots organizations. To accomplish this, we focus on creating environments that enable talent to flourish and encourage entrepreneurship to thrive. Our ultimate goal is to help our partners expand economic opportunity in their communities.

Our bottom-up approach, funding flexibility, and values give community leaders the opportunity and encouragement to experiment, innovate, and learn from the process of developing solutions to the challenges they identify. We also help them nurture and unlock the next generation of decision makers and leaders.

In recent years, new technologies and integration in international markets have positively impacted societies in Latin America and the Caribbean. These changes have also brought challenges. For example, automation, low productivity, labor informality, a shift in jobs skills—such as from low-value-added services to more creative skills—and labor mobility are some of the challenges that communities in developing countries face today.

Because advances in technology and broadening markets will continue to open opportunity in the region, it is essential that civil society prepare to take advantage. Organizations that we work with and projects we fund help strengthen necessary job skills and develop enterprise so that these communities can thrive with these opportunities.

Our investments support a widespread network of grassroots organizations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean that report favorable impressions of the United States because of the impact of our work. By supporting labor workforce and human capital, we fortify U.S. relations with community leaders in these countries and help our neighbors to the south secure a future of economic and social prosperity.

Talk about community-led development!