Our Year to Remember

As 2012 draws quickly to a close, we wanted to reflect on what the Accion U.S. Network has accomplished together with its valuable partners and members. And what better way than diving into our media archives and sharing the highlights?

We had a busy media year, thanks largely to the support of our partners The Boston Beer Company, Yelp & NYSE Big Start-Up, and La Idea. We’re proud that the success of these programs was shared with audiences across the country as Accion spokespeople, clients, and programs were featured in outlets ranging from the New York Times to CNBC.

• In partnership with The Boston Beer Company, Accion co-hosted 12 Brewing the American Dream Speed Coaching events throughout the year, mentoring over 700 entrepreneurs across the country. Additionally, the program disbursed over $660,000 in loans to 65 business owners, resulting in the creation or retention of 288 jobs! Brewing the American Dream has had a busy year, with coverage in major media outlets such as FOX News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Forbes.
• On December 7 we launched the La Idea program in partnership with USAID, the U.S. State Department and Univision with our first event in Miami. The event was extensively covered on Univision and had a turnout of over 120 entrepreneurs!
• Moreover, in 2012, the Yelp & NYSE Big StartUp program contributed $1.5 million to small business development programs and loans. Additionally, the partnership connected Accion with Yelp (the online review site) and together, we held a series of marketing workshops in 12 cities across the U.S that helped over 600 entrepreneurs learn more about online marketing and loan opportunities.

Thank you to all of our funders, partners and members for making these programs a huge success. Here are some highlights of our biggest stories from 2012: