For years, entrepreneurship has been presented as an almost unquestionable answer to unemployment and economic exclusion.

Starting a business has become synonymous with independence, resilience and personal empowerment.

Creating a product, opening a social media account, printing business cards or attending a trade fair does not guarantee customers, financing, contracts or sustained access to markets.

That is why, at Cámara Plus Ecuador, I believe we need to move beyond the romanticization of entrepreneurship.

And to do that, we need to talk about a word that is often missing from conversations about social inclusion:

01 · THE CHALLENGE

Starting a business out of necessity is not the same as building a sustainable company

Data gathered by the Institute for Inclusive Economy and Development — IEDI — at Cámara Plus Ecuador highlights a reality we cannot afford to ignore.

These indicators come from different datasets compiled by IEDI as part of its analysis of entrepreneurship, inclusive economic participation and diverse suppliers in Ecuador.

When someone cannot find formal employment, uses personal savings to start a business, works long hours, has little access to credit and ultimately depends almost entirely on occasional customers within their immediate network, economic exclusion has not necessarily disappeared.

In many cases, it has simply taken a different form.

IEDI’s work points to a crucial challenge: entrepreneurship without buyers, capital and access to value chains can remain trapped in a subsistence economy rather than becoming a pathway to long-term economic mobility.

Explore the work of the Institute for Inclusive Economy and Development — IEDI →

02 · OUR EVOLUTION

Emprende y Provee did not begin with a website

Cámara Plus Ecuador already has a track record of supporting the training, promotion and visibility of entrepreneurs.

Our institutional archive documents the first Emprende y Provee cohort, the first Emprende y Provee Fair and subsequent initiatives designed to create stronger links between entrepreneurs and the business ecosystem.

More recently, initiatives such as Diversidad 360° Expo have sought to bring entrepreneurs, SMEs, companies and organizations into a broader commercial environment.

That is the next step we want to advance through Marketplace Emprende y Provee.

03 · THE NEXT STEP

From a one-day fair to an always-on business showcase

A business should not become visible only when it attends a fair, posts an Instagram story or manages to pay for advertising.

It needs a commercial presence that remains accessible whenever someone is looking for a product, a service or a potential supplier.

That is why Marketplace Emprende y Provee should be understood as a permanent digital showcase connected to Cámara Plus Ecuador’s broader business ecosystem.

No customer can buy from a company they do not know exists.

And no corporate buyer can evaluate a supplier that remains invisible.

04 · COMPETITIVENESS

Digital visibility is no longer optional

Ecuador’s Statistical Business Register reported more than 1.2 million active businesses in 2025.

At the same time, digital connectivity has become part of everyday economic life. In July 2025, Ecuador’s National Institute of Statistics and Census — INEC — reported that 80.1% of people aged five and older used the internet.

But simply being online does not mean a business is easy to find.

Thousands of small businesses rely almost entirely on Instagram, WhatsApp or word-of-mouth referrals. Their commercial information is fragmented, and their content quickly disappears beneath a constant flow of new posts.

A specialized marketplace can help organize that supply and make businesses easier to discover.

The name of our initiative — Emprende y Provee, or “Start and Supply” — reflects exactly where we want this work to go.

Starting a business means creating something.

Becoming a supplier means being able to respond to demand, build commercial relationships, meet standards and gradually access more structured markets.

That transition does not happen overnight.

It requires visibility, professionalization, formalization, business skills, access to capital and opportunities to connect with buyers.

05 · ONE ECOSYSTEM, NOT ISOLATED PROJECTS

The pathway we want to build

Marketplace Emprende y Provee can serve as an entry point and visibility platform.

Cámara Plus Academy can help strengthen business knowledge and capabilities.

The broader business network of Cámara Plus Ecuador, together with related initiatives such as Pride Connection Ecuador, can progressively help foster a culture of more inclusive procurement and supplier diversity.

IEDI has also highlighted the importance of advancing toward inclusive corporate sourcing policies capable of connecting diverse suppliers with real procurement processes and value chains.

06 · OUR POSITION

Diversity needs access to markets too

For too long, economic inclusion has been approached primarily through an assistance-based lens.

I believe that needs to change.

LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, people with disabilities, Afro-Ecuadorians, Indigenous peoples and other historically excluded communities should not be seen only as beneficiaries of social programs.

They can participate in the economy not only as consumers or jobseekers, but as creators of economic value.

That is the economic conversation we want to advance at Cámara Plus Ecuador.