Fundación Empretec Argentina

What Fundación Empretec Argentina does

Fundación Empretec Argentina is a nonprofit foundation established in 1988 in Buenos Aires as the first institution worldwide to implement the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Empretec Programme. The foundation's core offering is the Taller de Desarrollo del Comportamiento Emprendedor (Taller Empretec), a six-day intensive, in-person workshop delivered by UNCTAD-certified instructors that trains participants in ten entrepreneurial behaviors derived from McClelland's research. Since 1988, the foundation has delivered more than 370 Talleres and trained over 10,000 Argentine entrepreneurs, building a federal network of alumni ("empretecos" and "empretecas") active across Mendoza, Río Negro, Salta, San Juan, and other provinces.

The foundation operates a multi-product educational platform organized into three customer segments — early-stage entrepreneurs, growing SMEs, and consolidated businesses. Beyond the flagship Taller Empretec, the Escuela de Negocios delivers self-paced asynchronous online courses via a Moodle-based virtual campus covering digital marketing, e-commerce, sales, finance, AI, and international trade, all with digital certification. Complementary offerings include Consultorios Virtuales (group consulting), Kits de Formación (downloadable practical guides), the annual Concurso Soluciones Innovadoras Banco Nación (a federal innovation competition now in its 17th edition with ARS $32 million in 2026 prize money), and the Empretec Hub event format. The foundation's core technology is the Moodle LMS that hosts all asynchronous courses, webinar recordings, and learner management; AI is taught as a curriculum topic rather than developed in-house.

The business model combines three revenue streams: (i) B2B institutional training contracts with provincial governments, industry associations, and corporations (e.g., Eramine, provincial Mendoza ministry, Banco Nación) who co-fund cohorts and contract the foundation to deliver programs in their territories; (ii) subscription / pay-as-you-go fees from the Escuela de Negocios asynchronous courses via integrated payment on the campus platform; and (iii) freemium top-of-funnel acquisition through a free annual webinar cycle co-organized with Banco Nación. The foundation is led by President Delfina Hempe (also a Banco Nación director) and Coordinador General Gustavo Fernández Borello, with strategic alliances anchoring distribution to Banco de la Nación Argentina (founding principal partner), UNCTAD (methodology licensor), and Unión Industrial Argentina.

Name

Fundación Empretec Argentina

Legal name

Fundación Empretec Argentina

Website

https://empretec.org.ar

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fundación Empretec Argentina is a Buenos Aires-based nonprofit founded in 1988 as the first UNCTAD Empretec center worldwide, delivering a six-day intensive entrepreneurial behavior program, asynchronous online courses, an annual innovation competition, and community events to Argentine entrepreneurs, SMEs, and institutional partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Training & Business Education Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (6117), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Financial Literacy, Budgeting & Personal Finance (EDAMAHAE), Economics & Finance Competitions (Econ Challenge, Stock Market Games) (EDAMAGAI)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship training programs
• Business development education
• Small business training
• UNCTAD methodology training
• Entrepreneurial behavior development

Headquarters

HQ city

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

HQ country

Argentina

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Asynchronous Course Fees (Escuela de Negocios): Revenue generated from paid asynchronous online courses offered through the Escuela de Negocios. Students self-enroll via the campus platform and pay through the platform's integrated payment system (transfer, card, or other available options). Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the main website.
2. Institutional Training Partnerships: Fundación Empretec coordinates customized training programs with institutions (governments, industry associations, corporations) who contract the foundation to design, deliver, and manage entrepreneurship and business training for their local ecosystems. This represents a B2B service revenue stream.
3. Free Webinars (Banco Nación Partnership): A free annual cycle of live webinars is delivered in partnership with Banco Nación, serving as a top-of-funnel acquisition tool to attract entrepreneurs into paid programs and the Taller Empretec.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fundación Empretec Argentina delivers entrepreneurship training programs built on the UNCTAD Empretec methodology. Its flagship offering is the Taller Empretec, a 6-day intensive in-person program developing 10 core entrepreneurial behaviors (opportunity seeking, persistence, risk-taking, goal-setting, persuasion, etc.). The foundation also runs the Escuela de Negócios, an asynchronous Moodle-based online school with courses in marketing, finance, AI, e-commerce, sales, pitch, and exports, plus group virtual consulting, downloadable formation kits, and the annual Concurso Soluciones Innovadoras Banco Nación innovation competition with ARS $32 million in prizes.

Product overview

Fundación Empretec Argentina operates a multi-product educational platform for entrepreneurs and SMEs, organized into three business stages (Primeros Pasos, En Crecimiento, and Empresas Consolidadas). The core product is the Taller Empretec, a 6-day UNCTAD-certified intensive program, supplemented by the asynchronous Escuela de Negocios (a Moodle-based LMS with 14 courses covering Marketing, Finance, AI, E-commerce, Sales, and Export), Consultorios Virtuales for group consulting, downloadable Kits de Formación, and the annual Concurso Soluciones Innovadoras Banco Nación innovation competition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Taller Empretec: The flagship 6-day intensive UNCTAD program for the development of entrepreneurial behavior and skills, delivered in Argentina by Fundación Empretec.
• Concurso Soluciones Innovadoras Banco Nación
• Escuela de Negocios Empretec
• Empretec Hub

Products and services

• Taller Empretec A 6-day intensive UNCTAD-certified workshop (Taller de Desarrollo del Comportamiento Emprendedor) developing 10 entrepreneurial behaviors through dynamic, participative methodology delivered by UNCTAD-certified instructors. Targeted at individual entrepreneurs and SME owner-founders across Argentina.
• Escuela de Negócios (Asynchronous Online Courses)

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ entrepreneurs trained in Argentina since 1988 through the Taller Empretec alone
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, supporting and core / flagship.

• Secretaría de Industria, Comercio y de la Pequeña y Mediana EmpresamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Government body that co-sponsors the 17th edition of the Concurso Soluciones Innovadoras Banco Nación, providing institutional backing and connecting the competition to national SME policy objectives.
• Startup GrindsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Startup Grind appears as an institutional supporter of the 2026 innovation competition, contributing to the evaluation jury and ecosystem network.
• Fundación TaedasupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Appears as an institutional supporter of the 2026 innovation competition.
• Cámara de Comercio Argentino IsraelísupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Appears as an institutional supporter of the 2026 innovation competition, contributing international trade network perspective.
• LociLabssupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Appears as an institutional supporter of the 2026 innovation competition.
• EraminemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2026Mining company that co-organized the first Taller Empretec in San Antonio de los Cobres, Salta (June 2026) as part of its 'Círculo de Emprendedores' corporate social responsibility program.
• Fundación CóndormajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2026Foundation that co-organized the first Taller Empretec in San Antonio de los Cobres, Salta, together with Eramine, targeting the Puna region at over 3,700 meters altitude.
• Ministerio de Producción de MendozamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Provincial government ministry that co-organized the Taller Empretec in the City of Mendoza (May 2026), enabling free access for 30 entrepreneurs in the province.
• Federación Económica de Mendoza (FEM)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026The provincial economic federation of Mendoza that co-organized the Taller Empretec, providing local business network access and institutional legitimacy.
• Universidad del AconcaguasupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2026Private university in Mendoza that co-organized the Taller Empretec, potentially providing venue and academic credibility.
• Agencia de Desarrollo Económico de Río NegromajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Provincial development agency that co-organized the Taller Empretec in San Carlos de Bariloche (May 2026), held at the Parque Industrial y Tecnológico de Bariloche (PITBA). 24 entrepreneurs completed the program.
• UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)core / flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988UNCTAD designed and licenses the global Empretec methodology to national centers. It coordinates quality standards, instructor certification, and program evolution. Fundación Empretec Argentina was the first center in the world to implement the program (1988).
• Unión Industrial Argentina (UIA)core / flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988UIA is a strategic ally supporting the foundation's activity nationwide. It co-sponsors the Concurso Soluciones Innovadoras and provides institutional legitimacy and industry network access for the foundation's programs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Fundación Banco de la Nación Argentina (FNBA): The corporate foundation of Banco de la Nación Argentina. Directly comparable as a sister nonprofit institution with overlapping sponsor relationship and similar educational/social mission; could be considered a partner, parent-affiliated entity, or competitor for the same pool of BNA-sponsored programmes.
• CAME (Confederación Argentina de la Mediana Empresa): Argentina's principal SME confederation. Comparable as a national institutional channel that coordinates SME training and development programmes with provincial reach — adjacent to Empretec's Vinculación Institucional function rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Ashoka Argentina: Argentine branch of Ashoka, the global network of leading social entrepreneurs. Directly comparable in mission (developing social/entrepreneurial leaders), nonprofit foundation structure, and emphasis on a curated alumni community of changemakers.
• New Ventures: Latin American entrepreneurship and SME capacity-building organisation operating across multiple emerging markets. Comparable in focus on high-growth entrepreneurs, federal programme delivery model, and donor/partner-funded structure.
• Junior Achievement Argentina: Affiliate of JA Worldwide delivering entrepreneurship and financial literacy education to Argentine youth and early-stage entrepreneurs. Comparable as a nonprofit educational foundation offering structured entrepreneurship curricula, corporate partnerships (similar to BNA), and federal programme delivery.
• Endeavor Argentina: Argentine nonprofit supporting high-impact entrepreneurs through mentorship, networking and capital-readiness programmes. Directly comparable to Fundación Empretec Argentina as a mission-driven entrepreneurship development organisation operating in the same country and customer segments (growth-stage SMEs and founders).

Broad incumbents

• Kauffman Foundation: US philanthropy focused on entrepreneurship education and research. Comparable as a large, mission-driven foundation funding entrepreneurship training and ecosystem development, though primarily grant-making rather than direct programme delivery.
• Stanford SEED: Stanford Graduate School of Business programme delivering executive education and capacity-building to emerging-market entrepreneurs. Comparable as a globally-recognised methodology-based entrepreneurship programme targeting SME owners in developing economies.
• Babson Global: Babson College's global entrepreneurship education initiative, widely regarded as the global leader in entrepreneurship pedagogy. Comparable in mission and methodology rigour to UNCTAD's Empretec programme, though operating at university scale rather than as a focused nonprofit foundation.

Regional players

• IAE Business School (Universidad Austral) – Centro de Entrepreneurship: Argentine business school's entrepreneurship centre offering executive education, incubation and venture support. Comparable as a source of structured entrepreneurship training for SME founders in Argentina, though operating within a degree-granting institution rather than as a standalone nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fundacion.empretec.argentina
• Instagraminstagram.com/empretecarg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundaci%C3%B3n-empretec-argentina

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Fundación Empretec Argentina