What Yo Emprendedor does

Yo Emprendedor is a Costa Rican private non-profit social welfare association, constituted in 2011 with origins in the 2006 FOMIN/BID-funded LINK program directed by Mesoamérica, dedicated to democratizing entrepreneurial education across Costa Rica and Central America. The organization serves entrepreneurs at multiple life stages — from rural secondary students to early-stage founders to vulnerable populations — through a portfolio of seven interconnected programs: the Competencia Regional de Negocios (CRN) regional business competition, the Semana Global de Emprendimiento (GEW) Costa Rica hosting role across 149 countries, YE LAB for intersectional entrepreneurship (indigenous, Afro-descendant, LGBTIQ+, refugee, migrant populations), Inspira STEAM labs for ages 13–17 in partnership with FUNCENAT and the Ministerio de Educación Pública, Semillas de Cambio for rural public-education entrepreneurship curricula, Futura for META-backed digital transformation, and the YE Academy online learning platform.

The technology surface is modest and primarily distribution-oriented: the YE Academy e-learning platform (yoemprendedoracademy.com) handles program enrollment, course delivery, and competition registration, while the main yoemprendedor.net site functions as a content and marketing hub. There is no proprietary AI, no mobile app, no public API, and no SDK distribution; the product layer is essentially program orchestration plus web publishing rather than software product.

Revenue mechanics are those of a grant-funded non-profit rather than a product company: Yo Emprendedor generates no disclosed transaction revenue, charges no documented fees for its programs, and is sustained through a diversified sponsor and institutional partner base that includes FOMIN/BID, GIZ, META, EY, Deloitte, Grupo Nación, Fundación Avina, Ashoka, and Impact Hub Tegucigalpa, with operational execution by a small core staff of approximately five people.

Name

Yo Emprendedor

Legal name

Yo Emprendedor

Website

https://yoemprendedor.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yo Emprendedor is a Costa Rican non-profit association that democratizes entrepreneurial education across Central America through programs including a regional business competition, STEAM youth labs, rural public-school curricula, and intersectional entrepreneurship training for vulnerable populations, supported by sponsors and institutional partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Education and Development Services

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Support Services (611710), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Career Exploration & Industry Exposure (Guest Speakers, Company Visits) (EDAMAHAJ)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship education
• Business development services
• Entrepreneurial training programs
• STEAM youth programs
• Nonprofit association services

Headquarters

HQ city

Escazú

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Non-profit organizational model: Yo Emprendedor is constituted as a private non-profit social welfare association (entity de bienestar social de carácter privado no lucrativo) established in 2011 with the primary purpose of fostering entrepreneurship in Costa Rica and the region. Revenue is generated through partnerships with allies, sponsors, and institutional funding rather than direct product sales.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Yo Emprendedor is a private non-profit social welfare association that runs a portfolio of entrepreneurship development programs in Costa Rica and Central America, including a regional business competition (Competencia Regional de Negocios), Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) hosting, intersectional entrepreneurship training through YE LAB, STEAM-focused youth innovation labs (Inspira), rural public-school entrepreneurial curriculum (Semillas de Cambio), and a META-powered digital transformation program (Futura). Programs are delivered through in-person mentorship, workshops, networking, and the YE Academy online platform, supported by sponsors, allies, and institutional partners.

Product overview

Yo Emprendedor offers a unified platform of seven interconnected programs focused on entrepreneurial education and formation across Central America. The core portfolio includes: Competencia Regional de Negocios (CRN) as the flagship regional business competition; Semana Global de Emprendimiento (GEW) as the global entrepreneurship week host; YE LAB for intersectional entrepreneurship development; Inspira for STEAM-focused youth innovation (ages 13-17); Semillas de Cambio for public education entrepreneurship; and Futura for digital transformation via META tools. YE Academy serves as the online platform for program delivery. All programs are grounded in four pillars: Conectar (connect), Desafiar (challenge), Educar (educate), and Impulsar (promote growth).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Competencia Regional de Negocios (CRN): Dynamic space for entrepreneurial training, challenges, mentorship, networking, international chaining and innovation throughout Central America.
• Semana Global de Emprendimiento (GEW)
• YE LAB
• Inspira
• Semillas de Cambio
• Futura

Products and services

• Competencia Regional de Negocios (CRN) Regional business competition offering entrepreneurial formation, challenges, mentorship, networking, international linkage, and innovation activities for entrepreneurs across Central America, with open enrollment.
• Semana Global de Emprendimiento (GEW) Global Entrepreneurship Week hosted by Yo Emprendedor in Costa Rica as part of a worldwide movement across 149 countries, held each November to strengthen entrepreneurial culture through simultaneous events and ecosystem activities.
• YE LAB Intersectional entrepreneurship laboratory providing content, workshops, tools, and learning modules to promote economic autonomy for indigenous, Afro-descendant, LGBTIQ+, refugee, and migrant populations, as well as academic and business sectors.
• Inspira STEAM-focused youth innovation and entrepreneurship laboratory for students aged 13-17, run in alliance with FUNCENAT and the Ministry of Public Education of Costa Rica to foster entrepreneurial mindset through science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
• Semillas de Cambio Collaborative program promoting entrepreneurial education in Costa Rica's public education system via a curriculum based on entrepreneurial skills, didactic guides, and teacher accompaniment for youth in rural areas.
• Futura Digital transformation initiative for Central America delivering formative programs in education, entrepreneurship, professional development, and mentorship using META's tools.
• YE Academy Online academy platform providing access to Yo Emprendedor's programs and educational content for entrepreneurial development, including business competition enrollment and online courses.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 15,000 entrepreneurs have been served through programs
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MesoaméricacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Directed the LINK program that connected entrepreneurs with investors to promote innovation and high-impact business models, directly influencing the creation of Yo Emprendedor.
• Grupo NacióncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Partnered with Yo Emprendedor founders to promote the creation of the national entrepreneurship tournament (CRN) in 2008.
• Fundación AvinacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Collaborated with Yo Emprendedor founders to establish the national entrepreneurship competition in 2008.
• Promotora Costarricense de Innovación (FUNCENAT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance for the Inspira program targeting youth (13-17 years) in STEAM education through entrepreneurial innovation labs.
• Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for Inspira program delivering STEAM education to secondary school students across Costa Rica.
• METAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partner for the Futura program providing digital transformation training, educational programs, professional development, and mentorship through META tools.
• Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID)minorOthersHost organization providing office space for Yo Emprendedor headquarters in San José, Costa Rica.
• AshokaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork member - global organization supporting social entrepreneurs; Yo Emprendedor is part of Ashoka's ecosystem network.
• Impact Hub TegucigalpaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral American network partner supporting regional entrepreneurship ecosystem development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Village Capital: Non-profit venture firm supporting early-stage entrepreneurs through peer-selected investment readiness programs. Emerging player with partial overlap in the entrepreneurship-support and competition/accelerator model that Yo Emprendedor's CRN embodies.

Direct peers

• Impact Hub: Global network of entrepreneurship hubs and incubators operating across Latin America (including Impact Hub Tegucigalpa, a Yo Emprendedor partner). Direct peer in delivering community-led entrepreneurship programming, mentoring, and innovation labs to early-stage entrepreneurs.
• Junior Achievement Americas: Regional arm of Junior Achievement delivering youth entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs across Latin America. Direct peer to Yo Emprendedor's Inspira and Semillas de Cambio youth programs in target audience (13–17 secondary students) and curriculum-embedded delivery model.
• NESsT: Non-profit that develops social enterprises and supports underserved entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. Direct peer in funding and incubating intersectional/vulnerable-population entrepreneurship — closely comparable to YE LAB's mission.
• Ashoka: Global network supporting social entrepreneurs, of which Yo Emprendedor is an ecosystem member. Direct peer in the social-entrepreneurship support and ecosystem-building space, with overlapping mission around inclusive entrepreneurship.
• Enactus: Global non-profit activating student entrepreneurship through university-based programs. Comparable to Yo Emprendedor's educational-channel model for young entrepreneurs, particularly relevant to the Inspira STEAM program.
• Fundación Avina: Latin American foundation promoting sustainable development through partnerships — co-founder of Yo Emprendedor's Competencia Regional de Negocios. Direct peer and historical collaborator in the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem with deep overlapping networks in Costa Rica and Central America.

Broad incumbents

• Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN): Parent organization of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) — Yo Emprendedor hosts GEW Costa Rica under GEN's umbrella. Broad incumbent that defines the global framework within which Yo Emprendedor's GEW programming operates.
• TechnoServe: International non-profit working with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Broad incumbent with comparable mission of supporting entrepreneurship in emerging markets, particularly in Latin America.
• Kauffman Foundation: Major US philanthropic foundation dedicated to entrepreneurship education and research. Broad incumbent in the entrepreneurship-education funding and ecosystem-building space that Yo Emprendedor operates in, with significantly larger resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/YoEmprendedorCR
• Facebookfacebook.com/yoemprendedor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yo-emprendedor-cr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yo Emprendedor