Our Partners
Since 1999, the Avanzar Foundation in Ecuador has established close and fruitful relationships with universities, technical institutes, NGOs, foundations, hospitals, and international organizations. Their priceless contributions and continuing commitment to our mission have conveyed their values and strong stance on social responsibility.
Every Swiss franc raised in Switzerland is doubled in Ecuador, thanks to our partners’ collaborative effort and contribution in form of strategic work to develop programs, the participation of teachers, tutors and students, the use of classrooms and machinery, among much more.
Get to know our partners and the work we do together!!
The Universidad del Azuay was founded in 1968 and is based in the city of Cuenca, capital of the province of Azuay. It is currently the largest private university in the city of Cuenca, committed to training people with critical thinking and contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of the population, through training programmes and support for rural communities and disadvantaged sectors.
Since 2017 the UDA has been running educational programmes specially designed for AVANZAR's beneficiaries, with pedagogy for adult women who have not previously been enrolled in school. We have run cutting and pattern-making courses at three training levels, courses to graduate nannies, care for the elderly, and the creation of business plans.
We are also part of its PAME impact programme, which consists of personalised advice for each entrepreneur, evaluating her social networks, her brand, costs, among other things.
Moreover in the year 2023, we obtained 100 per cent scholarships in its "Equity Scholarships" programme for third level studies.
The Catholic University of Cuenca, created in 1970, with headquarters in the city of Cuenca and Azogues, is an educational institution, equipped with quality services in physical and technological infrastructure, which meets the necessary criteria for the proper development of academic processes.
Its Social Engagement Program promotes the articulation of the University with the community, in this case with Fundación Avanzar, through the exchange of learning that contributes to the solution of the problems of society through the planning of actions, execution of projects and the management of results, thus contributing to local development, and to the improvement of the quality of life of the population with special emphasis on the groups of priority attention.
Together with their Kalary impact programme, we have provided training in the area of information technology, thus supporting women entrepreneurs in their integral development.
The Miguel León Home was founded in the city of Cuenca in 1870, with the aim of caring for orphaned children. Currently, 30 girls are cared for. Its objective is to give integral attention to girls in vulnerable situations, to restore their rights that have been violated and for which they are under protection measures. Eventually, when the girls reach the age of majority, they have to become independent from the home.
Fundación Avanzar supports the girls through financial, technical, personal development and teenage pregnancy prevention training, so that they can successfully complete their process of economic and emotional independence. Donations have also been made so that they can start small businesses.
Currently the Home also provides care for 50 abandoned older adults who have no family and others who decide to enter the residential modality, where they find shelter and quality service.
La Asunción is an educational institution attached to the University of Azuay, a pioneer in co-education and pedagogical innovation, educating humanists, critical, responsible and integral beings. It promotes educational and social development in an environment of harmonious coexistence oriented towards a globalised world, recognising the cultural, national and regional differences that enrich the human experience.
Fundación Avanzar supports with 25% for the Accelerated Baccalaureate Programme, whose objective is that people over 18 years of age, who did not have the opportunity to finish their baccalaureate, can have a second opportunity to be educated both in basic general education and in baccalaureate. These studies are completed in less than half the time it would normally take and at times that allow women to reconcile family and work.
The Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital is the largest public hospital in the southern part of the country, serving the population that does not have any type of health insurance, people with quintile 1 and 2 of poverty. Its objective is to provide health services with quality in the field of specialised care within the framework of social justice and equity.
Since 2009, Fundación Avanzar has maintained an alliance with the HVCM, we have a toy library that seeks to restore the rights of children and adolescents. In addition, 9600 breakfasts a year are given to those accompanying patients in the paediatric area. We have a volunteer service, early stimulation, re-education talks, among other recreational activities that offers a more comfortable stay for the children and their families in the hospital.
Duesman Ramírez is the manager of a company specializing in audiovisual communication and marketing services, located in the city of Cuenca. The company's goal is to provide creative and innovative solutions to the problems and needs of professionals and businesses.
Fundación Avanzar has a partnership with Duesman, offering comprehensive and free consultancy to women entrepreneurs in areas such as social media marketing, branding, image, and more. These consultations are personalized and tailored to the specific needs of each venture.
Additionally, we provide classes in marketing, business plans, and sales strategies, empowering women to enhance the competitiveness of their businesses in the market.
The University of Cuenca was founded in 1867 and is the largest public university in the southern region of the country. Currently, it is an innovative and resilient institution, connected to the world through the generation of relevant, high-quality knowledge, and committed to society.
For this reason, and always seeking partnerships of excellence, Fundación Avanzar has maintained an agreement with the University of Cuenca since 2019 through the Social Engagement Program. This program promotes social transformation through the planning, execution, and dissemination of activities designed to effectively address local, regional, and national needs by applying academic, scientific, and artistic knowledge in line with the university's principles of relevance.
We have received collaboration in the Avanzar Atelier, specifically in the areas of communication and network design for Ecuador, with the support of their Communication program. Moreover over several years, we have hosted interns from the university who directly contribute to our Playroom Program at the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital. Likewise, they conduct training and re-education workshops at the Foundation, serving as a complement to the entrepreneurs involved in our training programs.
The Private South American Technological Higher Institute, as a Higher Education Center, opened its doors to students in the capital of Azuay in the academic year 1995-1996. Within the southern region of Ecuador, the Institute is a leader in training technologist professionals, with the highest competencies in terms of knowledge, skills, and ethical attitudes. It contributes to social, environmental, and economic strengthening through a scientific and humanistic educational model that fosters innovation, promotion, development, and dissemination of knowledge and cultures.
The objective of the agreement with Fundación Avanzar is to provide education to the beneficiaries through its department of community engagement, ensuring that these training programs are tailored to the needs of the women in the foundation.
The Tecnológico del Azuay is a Public Higher Education Institution, which in its 30 years of institutional life has managed to position itself as a benchmark for technical and technological training in the region and the country.
Through its Social Engagement Program it seeks to: "Strengthen the link between the Institute and society through the development and execution of programmes, projects and activities that articulate teaching, research and social responsibility, contributing to local development". We have signed an agreement to create a web page, which has the aim of grouping several Avanzar entrepreneurs in a virtual catalogue, where they can be easily located for the commercialisation of their products.
Germany's Sparkassenstiftung is a non-profit organisation for international cooperation that aims to boost the local financial sector in developing countries.
They design and implement sustainable projects with strategic partners, adapting the best practices of the German Sparkassen (savings banks) system to the local needs and context in order to promote institutional strengthening and financial inclusion, thus contributing to poverty reduction.
Thanks to its cooperation with Sparkassenstiftung, Fundación Avanzar has been including financial literacy programmes in its regular courses since 2019 as a tool for women entrepreneurs to successfully manage their finances.
We have implemented several programmes, including "Me and my finances", "Me and my business", the "Micro-entrepreneur simulator", seeking to strengthen popular finances, the indispensable knowledge to successfully manage both the household economy and their small businesses.
The UCACSUR (Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives of the South) aims to identify the needs and requirements for strengthening skills and knowledge in cooperative issues within the Popular and Solidarity Financial sector. They offer various programs and services, and in collaboration with Fundación Avanzar, they implement training sessions on financial education. This provides the beneficiaries with the opportunity to acquire knowledge about a fundamental and important topic—learning to manage their finances, not only for their entrepreneurial endeavors but also on a personal level.
The International Organization for Migration operates under the principle that migration in an orderly, safe, regular, and humane manner benefits both migrants and the societies that host them.
In Ecuador, IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, promote international cooperation on migration issues, assist in finding practical solutions to migration problems, and provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, whether they are refugees, displaced persons, or other uprooted individuals.
Fundación Avanzar has an agreement with IOM to support one of its objectives: to empower migrants to navigate effectively and generate resources to improve their quality of life and that of their families.