Page 14 - Corporate Responsibility Report 2018

12 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report
LOCAL COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Changing Lives Across a Region
In Colombia, the regions where energy resources are concentrated are often the most in need of sustained economic development. In addition to developing Colombia’s oil resources responsibly, Gran Tierra creates opportunities for employment, education, entrepreneurship and self-reliance. The company’s social efforts are aligned with government priorities of entrepreneurship and gender equity and are conducted under a framework of regionalization.
This strategy was developed in 2018 to ensure the company is not only building social and economic value in the areas where it operates, but also is playing a role in making sure that the conditions in the broader region needed to sustain progress are in place.
This chapter highlights how two of the company’s strategic social investments focused on creating opportunities and generating income outside of the oil and gas industry are changing lives.
Entrepreneurship Pays
Throughout 2018, Gran Tierra focused on combining different social investment programs in the Middle Magdalena Valley (Encontrándo Líderes) and Putumayo (Creando Oportunidades) near where GTE operates to establish a single project, Emprender Paga. The new program has become one of Gran Tierra’s main social investment projects by fostering local business development through entrepreneurship and self-employment.
This initiative was created in response to the desire of communities to recover from economic stagnation and to adopt a sustainable development strategy by rebuilding the productive capacity of their territory. Through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on experience, Emprender Paga is an education and business development program that empowers individuals, associations and community groups to develop a vision; gain confidence in their abilities; create business plans; build a team; collaborate effectively and grow successful businesses.
Emprender Paga is intended not only to foster economic growth, but it also promotes strengthening values like inclusion, lawfulness and solidarity among participants.
OVER
300
LOCAL BUSINESSES PARTICIPATED IN EMPRENDER PAGA IN 2018
OVER
100
RECEIVED SEED CAPITAL FOR STARTING OR IMPROVING THEIR BUSINESSES