17.10.2025
Entrepreneurship with Purpose in El Salvador: How Purpose-Driven Leadership Shapes Communities
At Inter-Cultur, we believe that every individual has the potential to contribute to a more inclusive and prosperous society. This vision is not only expressed through our Development Cooperation programs, but also through the knowledge and experiences we share with institutions, organizations, and individuals.
Inter-Cultur at MBA Acelera: A collaboration that aims to transform economies and lives.
On June 3, Inter-Cultur took part in an important milestone in El Salvador, joining the MBA Acelera program event, which brought together more than 70 participants. Santi Martinez, Executive Director of Inter-Cultur, contributed as Leader of Business Ethics and Case Method, sharing insights on purpose-driven entrepreneurship.
MBA ACTEC is a program inspired by the teaching methods of the world’s leading MBA programs, tailored to the unique circumstances, needs, and challenges of micro-entrepreneurs facing social vulnerability.
This event served as a tool for the economic development of micro-entrepreneurs with a strong purpose. In total, over 80 leaders from the business, academic, and social sectors came together to reflect on a shared idea: that purpose-driven entrepreneurship has the power to transform both economies and lives.
But the challenges of building a sustainable business often shift entrepreneurs' focus from leadership to placing income and growth at the core. Sustaining this business logic over time can have the negative outcome of a leader with no purpose, explained Santi Martinez, our Executive Director.
Leadership is about lighting the way: championing sustainable leadership
The event, organized by Fundación del Valle, ACTEC, and Linares Abogados, with FUSAI as the local partner, provided a platform to exchange ideas, reflect on challenges, and build practical solutions to strengthen micro and small businesses, and foster economic inclusion.
A new way of understanding leadership was brought up. The pressure that micro-entrepreneurs face can lead to an unbalanced sense of ambition. But it can mean more. Santi Martinez advocated leadership-oriented ambition, in which serving others is the key to building an impact-driven business. It isn’t about growing immeasurably, but about redefining the objectives of growth.
This way of leading places talent and resources at the service of others. Ambition is viewed from a different perspective, in which goals are not only profit-oriented, but also based on the impact that decisions can have on other people's lives.
Service can redefine success, and leadership can transform businesses
Collaboration is at the center of Inter-Cultur's work. This event reflected the value of partnerships and knowledge-sharing in advancing entrepreneurship with purpose, and strengthening local economic leadership.
As Inter-Cultur extends its appreciation to MBA Acelera for this project, whose aim is to develop managerial and strategic competences to transform companies and, consequently, be an engine of their communities, we are glad to continue expanding our mission of transforming the world of individuals. Each step toward conscious leadership is a step closer to stronger communities.
