Although the School of Economics of Francisco Marroquín University has been leading in the education of entrepreneurship since its beginnings, it was until 2009 that the Kirzner Entrepreneurship Center was created. The Center was founded in order to deepen the study and strengthen the topic of entrepreneurship at UFM and Guatemala.
There are many definitions about entrepreneurship and discussions around the question if a person is born or made an entrepreneur. In constant analysis, from Schumpeter’s concept of innovation, to Kirzner’s idea of entrepreneurship as a discovery process, at KEC we seek to be a source of information and diffusion of the different theories, tools and processes that can promote entrepreneurship and enhance entrepreneurs. In addition, we wish to be a meeting point of business men, academics and entrepreneurs.
The mission of the Center is to nurture the knowledge of entrepreneurship and promote its practice by means of education, research, and community service.
Deriving from its mission, the Center is composed of three areas:
Education: the objective of spreading out entrepreneurship theory and practice through special programs and courses for current students, alumni and teachers. This is carried out through courses, workshops, conferences and special programs.
Research: the goal is to study in depth everything related to entrepreneurship, through research in related topics and documentation of stories of local entrepreneurs and cases of Guatemalan businesses. UFM was accepted in 2009 to participate in the largest ongoing research study about entrepreneurship worldwide, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). We were the first country in Central America to be involved in this investigation. To learn more about GEM you can visit www.gemconsortium.org.
Outreach: the objective of this area is to promote the entrepreneurial culture and to support, through experience and knowledge, individuals, groups and projects outside the boundaries of UFM. The Center is a member of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers –GCEC-. Since 2011, KEC manages the First Tuesday chapter for Guatemala, a space for entrepreneurs to meet up and network. For more information, you can visit www.fce.ufm.edu/firsttuesdaygt. Since 2012, we are also the host of Global Entrepreneurship Week for Guatemala.
At KEC we are looking to inspire and connect the dots. We dream that students and entrepreneurs are excited about entrepreneurship, follow their dreams and generate new businesses that contribute to the development of the country and to improve the quality of life of Guatemalans.
For more information visit: http://fce.ufm.edu/kec/.
