Guayacán Venture Accelerator opens call for virtual edition
Entrepreneurs throughout Puerto Rico will have the opportunity to participate in the 13th edition of the Guayacán Venture Accelerator (GVA), the executive development program offered by Grupo Guayacán for established companies that wish to accelerate their growth.
This year, the GVA program will be offered virtually, to facilitate access for participants, organizers said.
The closing date for submissions is Mar. 26, and application is available online.
Guayacán hopes to select up to 12 companies that will receive an advanced education curriculum that will cover techniques and tools to boost their respective business growth plans. This year’s curriculum includes 16 workshops led by a group of local and international executives, investors, and academics, Guayacán said.
Participants will also receive counseling from a mentor which will guide them through their company growth process for the duration of the program from May 7 to Nov. 12.
“Participating in the GVA program helped us have a clearer perspective of the steps we needed to take to grow the business,” said Shayra Norat, business development manager of Viktor Pollo, and graduate of the GVA program.
“Because of the required social distancing measures during the pandemic, we had the opportunity to take the workshops virtually. It doesn’t matter how successful your business is at the time; the GVA program will give you the tools to identify opportunities and ways to implement them for your business to grow,” she said.
As part of its recruitment process, Grupo Guayacán will offer a series of informative sessions to companies who may be interested in the program. The first briefing session will be held Feb. 24, and it will be offered by Robert Dávila, program instructor and former executive director of the organization.
To register, those interested should contact GVA manager Natalia Arias. The GVA offers a Pay-it-Forward fellowship founded by Jorge López, CEO of Fuller Group and GVA 2014 alumni, which covers a portion of the program enrollment cost for eligible businesses. The GVA also gets support from the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO).
“Our experience during the GVA program helped us step into the customer’s shoes and put into perspective the different areas of a business,” said Ibrahim Fehmi, president of Alten Energy, another graduate of the GVA program. “It’s like completing an MBA in an accelerated way, where each topic discussed opens your eyes and your appetite to learn and grow,” he said.
