Supporting Entrepreneurs

On a cold Saturday in February, with temperatures well into the -20s, it became clear that the two Communities United staff organizing the pop-up market had no idea what they were doing. Nevertheless, graduates of an Action for Healthy Communities’ (AHC) entrepreneurship program had identified that they were interested in attending a pop-up market, and on a cold day in February more than 20 different entrepreneurs came out to participate.

CU knew that additional opportunities were needed for the entrepreneurs they were connecting with and, over the next year, CU worked with community partners to organize a number of pop-up markets, workshops, and training opportunities.

2020 was going to be a big year of working with entrepreneurs but when COVID lockdowns made organizing events and markets difficult, CU needed to find additional ways to provide meaningful support during a very difficult time for small businesses. What emerged was a project focused on promotion - where the goal wasn’t just to teach the value and importance of marketing, but where CU hired a local digital media company to create ads and promotional materials for 8 local businesses.

In addition to each business receiving a professional quality video, FILMR Media also developed accessible and affordable marketing services and products that helped fill an obvious need for businesses and local organizations.

“Through CU we were able to obtain a professional video that helps for our marketing campaign, that otherwise would be almost impossible for a startup business.”

- Jhon Quijano, Roots of Colombia