About Us

Agora Partnerships is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small and growing businesses fight poverty in the world’s poorest communities. We strive to become a trusted partner for impact entrepreneurs in the developing world who use their businesses to create jobs, protect the environment, and raise expectations of what is possible.

We are committed to building the field of small and growing businesses in poor countries and to helping entrepreneurs and investors generate superior social and economic returns.

Our Vision

We hope to become an access point that allows impact entrepreneurs to connect with global networks. We seek to create locally tailored financing and consulting mechanisms that allow businesses in the "missing middle" to grow in the most difficult stages of their life cycle and in the most challenging markets. We strive to build a global community of socially responsible small businesses and provide them with the knowledge, networks, and capital they need to make a positive impact in the world.

Our Philosophy

We believe the most important resource of a developing country is its people. Therefore, we identify and empower the best people - regardless of background or connections - who represent society’s greatest chance to take advantage of opportunity and convert it into economic and social progress. The critical time to help these people is when they need it most - at the early stages of their careers.

Now, more than ever, we need collaborative, non-hierarchal, partnership-centered models of development. Our approach to development uses technology, social networks, market creation, and market signaling to connect entrepreneurs with the social, human, and financial capital they need to create a more prosperous, just, and environmentally sustainable world.

Learn how Agora got started