Puerto Rico entrepreneurship rate climbs to 24%
Puerto Rico’s early-stage entrepreneurship rate has reached 24%, more than double since measurements began, according to data presented by Echar Pa’lante during a recent workshop with journalists.
The organization said the rise reflects a cultural shift driven by younger generations and a growing interest in business creation across the island.
“Puerto Rico has already reached a critical mass of people interested in entrepreneurship,” said Gloria Viscasillas, executive director and multisectoral integrator.
“Today we have 24% early-stage entrepreneurial activity, double what it was when we started measuring. This confirms that the island is changing and that our young population is entering entrepreneurship earlier and with greater confidence,” she said.
Viscasillas noted that although the intention to start businesses remains high, business consolidation is still the island’s greatest challenge.
“We’re generating more new ventures, but a far too large proportion still fail to reach maturity,” she said. “The challenge, and at the same time the opportunity, is to support those who have already started so they can grow as quickly as possible, stabilize and become sustainable businesses.”
She added that fear of failure continues to hinder new business owners.
“Fear of failure remains one of the main obstacles. It’s a global phenomenon, but in Puerto Rico it’s stronger because for decades we’ve depended on external structures that limited the development of self-confidence,” Viscasillas said.
Echar Pa’lante highlighted its recent milestones since becoming an independent nonprofit. These include building its administrative structure, strengthening its Mentor Corps, developing training videos for public school teachers, integrating entrepreneurship and innovation into K-12 curricula, expanding investor education, completing nine workshops of the First GEN Academy and advancing the rehabilitation of the historic Hawthorne building in Río Piedras.
The organization also emphasized the scale of training completed to date: more than 11,000 teachers, more than 1,400 university professors and about 600 professionals who support entrepreneurs. Schools across public, private, alternative and homeschooling sectors are adopting content on innovation, creativity, resilience and collaboration to build entrepreneurial communities.
Looking ahead, the entity’s 2026 plan calls for expanding ecosystem training, developing new educational content with a focus on artificial intelligence, advancing Puerto Rico’s Lifelong Learning Strategy and continuing activities at the Hawthorne building.
Echar Pa’lante will also continue certifications for educators and facilitators, strengthen its Mentor Corps, expand entrepreneurship clubs in high schools and grow programs related to intellectual property and EXPO Emprende.
