Alliances and Partnerships 2021

“Alliances and Partnerships” is offered by LeFil, as part of the PES LATAM Program. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

The objective of “Alliances and Partnerships” is to trigger and facilitate collaborations between social entrepreneur(s) and corporates. To that effect, we can offer design and facilitation services, financial support, and/or technical assistance to the partnership parties.

The partnerships we support should help one or more corporate(s) adopt more inclusive business practices, which would benefit populations at the Base of the Pyramid, thanks to the support, innovation, and access that a social entrepreneur could bring.

What do we offer?

Corporations can bring significant assets in the resolution of societal issues: they have operations, resources, and infrastructure that helps them scale products and solutions rapidly. On the other hand, they do not necessarily have the insights, the innovations, and the trusted connections to low-income/ vulnerable populations that many social entrepreneurs develop.

The objective of this initiative is to leverage private sector resources, assets, and expertise to scale up social innovations from social entrepreneurs in a faster, more strategic, and more sustainable way. There are many modalities to do so, including:

• having the corporate(s) invest in social innovations and innovators;
• having large businesses enter into partnerships with social entrepreneurs to deliver interventions; or
• creating multi-stakeholder alliances involving the public and private sector, as well as social entrepreneurs.

Once selected for this opportunity, LeFil can support you with financial support, as well as technical assistance on:

1. Intervention design at pilot and scale-up phase
2. Business case and capacity-building
3. Partnership building

Additional benefits

Additionally, the entrepreneurs selected to participate in I3 LATAM automatically will become part of the PES LATAM network of entrepreneurs and will have access to other types of support. Visit this page for more information!

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for at least two parties to the partnership:

1. Established social entrepreneurs who are solving a problem at the base of the pyramid through a product or service, and who are looking to expand their business and / or raise capital.
2.  Corporates whose management wants to engage in more socially and environmentally beneficial activities, in collaboration with social entrepreneurs.

As part of your application, you will need to describe your proposal. This does not need to be in the form of a full business case yet but should nevertheless be already well fleshed out and thought through – the more details, the better!

Additionally, to be part of this opportunity, you need to meet these basic eligibility criteria:

Your partnership should:

• Bring strategic value to at least one corporate and one social entrepreneur
• Have the potential to scale, sustainably
• Disproportionately benefit low-income beneficiaries
• Take place in Central or Latin America (except Brazil)
• Be supported by the management of both the corporate and social enterprise, who need to commit to scale an initial pilot, if proven successful.

In addition, if you seek financial support, the parties will need to match at least the same amount in kind or cash, through their contributions or other sources of financing.

Don’t meet the criteria?

If you don’t meet any of these requirements, don’t worry! You can look for more opportunities in PES LATAM that may adapt to the stage of your venture.

Also, we recommend that you spend 5 minutes of your time creating your account and updating your company’s profile on ES2 LATAM, which will give you access to even more opportunities!

How and when can you apply?

You can apply to the “Alliances and Partnerships” opportunity on a rolling basis.

Note that you will need an ES2 Latam venture profile that will be generated through the application form.

How does the application process work?

1. Register your company: Complete the profile and fill out the questionnaire.
2. Send: Once the questions have been answered, press the “send” button.
3. Review: LeFil will review your application (if in doubt it will contact you).
4. Interview: LeFil will schedule an interview to get to know you and your company better.
5. Results: With the information collected we will evaluate your application and we will contact you if you are selected!.

Do you have another question? Please contact: jfrey@lefilconsulting.com

About LeFil Consulting

Founded in 2010, LeFil Consulting specializes in the identification, design, growth, and replication of innovations that create social and economic value, sustainably and at scale. We work for start-ups and large corporations, donors, and NGOs, as well as governments and their constituencies. We have expertise across a broad range of sectors and geographies.

Since 2014, Lefil Consulting is leading the PES LATAM consortium and implemented several capacity building programs and brought technical assistance to more than 90 social enterprises until today.