COLUMBIA, S.C.: Columbia College has received a grant from the U.S. Department of State for $198,000 to provide entrepreneurship training for citizens of Colombia, South America, in partnership with the Partners of the Americas, Junior Achievement in Columbia and in Colombia, and the South Carolina World Trade Center.  The grant will provide training for business and education leaders from Colombia, South America, who will return to their country to train youth and women to develop and operate small businesses.
“The funding provided by this grant will further economic cooperation and goodwill relations between the United States and Colombia, specifically increasing the opportunities for international trade in South Carolina. Columbia College is to be commended for its commitment to providing educational resources developing the potential of entrepreneurs in South Carolina, South America, and beyond,” Congressman Joe Wilson said.
 
Columbia College is the grant applicant and fiscal agent for the program, and in addition, will furnish classrooms, housing, and meals for the U. S. Training Institute during the on-site training phase of the project.
 
This project will bring sixteen business and education leaders from Colombia, South America, to Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina, where they will be instructed in techniques that they will in-turn use to train Colombian youth and women in entrepreneurship and how to develop and operate a business. The Junior Achievement Business Program model will be used in the instruction. Upon completion of the Training Institute in the US, the leaders will return to Colombia, recruit participants among Colombian youth and women, and begin using effective, practical methods of stimulating entrepreneurial skills. Later, three workshops will be conducted to showcase the program and products.
 

The end goal of the project is to provide opportunity for engagement, collaboration, partnerships and long-range business ventures, including import/export business ventures, between business people and educators in Colombia, South America, and South Carolina. An extensive evaluation component is planned to measure the success of the project and its goals.


Three organizations will be primary partners in the project including Columbia College, Junior Achievement of Central South Carolina and Junior Achievement Bogotá, and Partners of the Americas South Carolina-Southwest Colombia Chapter. Other partners will contribute significantly to the project. The anticipated length of the project is three years.