Practical Action en América Latina

What Practical Action en América Latina does

Practical Action en América Latina is the regional office of UK-registered international development charity Practical Action (Reg Charity No. 247257), headquartered in Lima, Peru with country offices in La Paz, Bolivia and Quito, Ecuador. Founded in the region approximately four decades ago (parent organization founded 1988, regional presence dating to the mid-1980s), the organization operates as a non-profit development NGO with around 65 staff implementing community-led projects across three thematic pillars: "Agricultura que funciona" (working agriculture for smallholders), "Resiliencia que protege" (disaster risk management and climate adaptation), and "Energía que transforma" (clean energy access).

The organization delivers programs through direct field engagement with indigenous communities (Aymara, Tacana, and Amazonian peoples via partners such as CIPTA, CIMTA, AIDESEP, and CONFENIAE), smallholder farmers, and municipal and national governments (VIDECI in Bolivia, SENAMHI in Peru). Technical deliverables include 5 LiDAR-based hydrological monitoring stations in Peru's Vilcanota basin with Imperial College London, early-warning systems for flood-prone Lima settlements, and 13 communities strengthened in flood resilience in Bolivia during 2020–2024. It also produces a public knowledge product suite: research publications, the SABERES magazine on indigenous climate knowledge, the Infoinundaciones flood archive, and a Climate Resilience Alliance portal.

Revenue is grant-funded, sourced from international donors and foundations including the UK Government (Darwin Initiative), COSUDE (Switzerland), UNDP Climate Promise, Lloyd's Register Foundation (World Risk Poll), and the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (membership since 2013). The organization does not sell commercial products; its distribution model is field-based direct engagement, capacity-building workshops, government cooperation agreements, and free downloadable knowledge products. Geographic scope covers active implementation in three countries with technical support services delivered to cooperation entities in more than fifteen Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Name

Practical Action en América Latina

Legal name

Practical Action

Website

https://latam.practicalaction.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Practical Action en América Latina is the Lima-based regional office of UK charity Practical Action, operating as a non-profit development NGO in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. It delivers community-led programs in smallholder agriculture, disaster risk management, and clean energy with indigenous communities, smallholder farmers, and municipal governments, funded by international donor grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

akta.pro primary industry

Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration (BPAIAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Climate, Environment & Natural Resource Management Aid Programs (BPADABAI)

Keywords

• International development services
• Climate adaptation programs
• Disaster risk management
• Smallholder agriculture support
• Clean energy access

Headquarters

HQ city

Lima

HQ country

Peru

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. International Development Funding: As a non-profit organization, Practical Action Latin America operates primarily through grants, donations, and cooperative agreements with international donors, foundations, governments, and development agencies. Revenue is generated through project-based funding rather than commercial product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Practical Action en América Latina is the Latin America regional office of Practical Action, a UK-registered international development charity. It delivers community-led development programs across three pillars: smallholder agriculture adaptation, disaster risk management and anticipatory action, and clean energy access. It also produces and disseminates knowledge products (publications, stories, and information portals) supporting climate resilience work in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Product overview

Practical Action en América Latina is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on development work across Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Rather than offering a unified software product or platform, the organization produces and disseminates knowledge products including publications (research reports, methodological guides, technical manuals), stories documenting community impact, and project information. Their thematic work spans three main pillars: 'Agricultura que funciona' (Working Agriculture), 'Energía que transforma' (Transformative Energy), and 'Resiliencia que protege' (Resilience that Protects), with publications addressing climate resilience, early warning systems, indigenous governance, agricultural practices, and sustainable development. The organization also maintains informational portals including Climate Resilience Alliance, Infoinundaciones (flood information archive), and regenerative coffee farming resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Services Community-level disaster preparedness, early warning systems, anticipatory action, and climate resilience services delivered with indigenous communities, local brigadists, and municipal governments in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Includes hydrological monitoring, flood early warning (e.g., LiDAR-based Vilcanota basin stations), and institutional strengthening of civil defense agencies.
• Smallholder Agriculture and Food Security Services Technical assistance, capacity building, and climate-adapted practice dissemination for smallholder and family farmers across Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Activities include regenerative coffee agroforestry (BLF Andes Amazónico project with Solidaridad in Cajamarca), improved agricultural practices, and livelihood diversification.
• Clean Energy Access Services Programs helping rural and peri-urban communities in Latin America access clean, affordable, and sustainable energy, delivered through field projects, capacity building, and partnerships. Includes energy-focused work embedded within UNDP Climate Promise Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) initiatives.
• Indigenous Territorial Governance and Climate Action Services Programmatic support for indigenous peoples (Aymara, Tacana, Amazonian peoples) to strengthen territorial governance, document ancestral and traditional knowledge, and lead local climate action. Includes partnerships with CIPTA and CIMTA in Bolivia, AIDESEP in Peru, and CONFENIAE in Ecuador; contributions to SABERES magazine and REDD+ jurisdictional initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 communities strengthened in flood resilience in Bolivia during 2020-2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• CLEAR GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for indigenous inclusion in disaster risk management decision-making. CLEAR Global (formerly Translators without Borders) provides expertise in language and communication aspects of risk messaging. Joint project on indigenous inclusion in Bolivia.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research oversight and theoretical frameworks. Involved in research on wellbeing paradigms and mental health implications of disasters for indigenous communities.
• AIDESEP (Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeru's main indigenous organization representing Amazonian peoples. Partner in BLF Andes Amazónico project, indigenous climate action documentation, and REDD+ jurisdictional initiatives.
• CONFENIAE (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcuador's confederation of Amazonian indigenous nationalities. Partner in projects on indigenous women's leadership and territorial governance.
• Zurich Flood Resilience AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal alliance focused on flood resilience. Practical Action has been a member since 2013. The alliance supports community resilience projects in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
• VIDECI (Viceministerio de Defensa Civil - Bolivia)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBolivia's Vice Ministry of Civil Defense. Coordination partner for flood resilience work in 13 communities across three municipalities.
• SENAMHI (Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología - Peru)majorTechnology or IntegrationPeru's national meteorology and hydrology service. Partner in hydrological monitoring network in Vilcanota basin using LiDAR technology.
• Cruz Roja EcuatorianamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcuadorian Red Cross organized the first National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action, supported by Practical Action and other entities.
• Red Cross Red Crescent Climate CentremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical partner providing expertise on flood anticipation methodologies and early warning systems.
• SolidaridadmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment organization co-implementing BLF Andes Amazónico project with Practical Action, focusing on coffee agroforestry systems in Cajamarca.
• Cruz Roja AlemanamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Red Cross partner in systematizing anticipatory action practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• NORCAPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorwegian capacity building service provider supporting the Anticipatory Action Technical Group in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Anticipation HubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal knowledge platform on anticipatory action supporting regional exchange and documentation of good practices.
• OSINFOR (Organismo de Supervisión de los Recursos Forestales y de Fauna Silvestre)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeru's forest and wildlife supervision agency. Partner in developing the Forest Backpack educational material on forests and climate change.
• Universidad Católica Boliviana San PablomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBolivian Catholic University. Partner in wetland rights operationalization event and socioeconomic research.
• ILC (International Land Coalition)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal coalition of CSOs and institutions working on land rights. ILC Tacana and ILC Nación Aymara chapters support indigenous territorial governance.
• AGRUCOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural university consortium contributing to traditional knowledge documentation in the SABERES magazine and indigenous climate knowledge.
• PILCCC (Plataforma de Naciones y Pueblos Indígenas Originario Campesinos de Lucha Contra el Cambio Climático)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous platform on climate change contributing to traditional knowledge documentation in the SABERES magazine.
• Autoridad Plurinacional de la Madre TierraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBolivian plurinational authority on Mother Earth contributing editorial content to the SABERES magazine.
• Autoridad Plurinacional de la Madre TierraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBolivian plurinational authority on Mother Earth contributing editorial content to the SABERES magazine.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Heifer International: INGO focused on smallholder livestock and sustainable agriculture in Latin America (including Peru and Ecuador). Directly comparable on the smallholder agriculture and livelihoods pillar and similar grant-funded community delivery model.
• Swisscontact: Swiss foundation for development cooperation operating on vocational training, entrepreneurship, and sustainable economic development in Latin America. Closely mirrors Practical Action's professional-services grant implementation model and is funded by similar Swiss and European institutional donors.
• Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre: Technical partner of the Red Cross movement supporting anticipatory action and forecast-based financing globally and in Latin America. Already collaborates with Practical Action on anticipatory action methodologies and overlaps directly on disaster risk management programming.
• SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: Dutch INGO working on climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy access, and water resilience across Latin America and globally. Closely comparable donor mix (bilateral European agencies, foundations), delivery model, and beneficiary profile to Practical Action Latin America.
• HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation: Swiss INGO with parallel thematic focus on climate resilience, rural livelihoods, and water/sanitation, with an active Latin America regional portfolio anchored in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Operates on similar project-based grant funding and serves comparable smallholder and indigenous beneficiary groups.
• Solidaridad Network: International civil society network active across Latin America on smallholder agriculture, climate adaptation, and supply chain sustainability. Already co-implements BLF Andes Amazónico with Practical Action in Peru and shares thematic focus, funding base, and field presence.

Broad incumbents

• Oxfam Latin America: Regional presence of Oxfam International covering Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador on climate justice, indigenous rights, and disaster response. Overlaps with Practical Action's indigenous governance and disaster risk pillars and shares similar institutional donor relationships.
• Mercy Corps: Larger US-headquartered INGO with global disaster risk management, climate adaptation, and food security programming, including in the Andean region. Overlaps directly with Practical Action's resilience and agriculture pillars but at materially greater scale.
• CARE International: Major global INGO with longstanding Latin America programming in climate resilience, gender, and food security, including partnerships with similar bilateral donors (DFID/FCDO, SDC). Wider thematic and geographic scope than Practical Action but directly comparable beneficiary and funding profile.

Others

• ILC (International Land Coalition): Global coalition supporting indigenous and community land rights with active Latin America members, including ILC Tacana and ILC Nación Aymara chapters partnered with Practical Action. Comparable as a thematic ecosystem actor in indigenous territorial governance rather than as a direct implementer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/practicalaction
• Xx.com/PracticalAction
• Instagraminstagram.com/practicalaction
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palatinamerica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/practicalaction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Practical Action en América Latina