About us

Panama has the highest economic disparity amongst its citizens in all of Central America and the fourth largest in the Spanish speaking world. Much of the economic wealth is concentrated in Panama City and does not matriculate to the countryside because rural and impoverished areas do not have the skills needed to manage a long term business. HOWEVER there are several efforts happening right now to change this. Find out how to start a Business Brigade by contacting michelle@globalbrigades.org .

What is Global Business Brigades (GBB)?

GLOBAL BUSINESS BRIGADES (GBB) is a socially conscious network of volunteers that bring business skills and a passion for change to developing communities around the world. The secular organization empowers college students with the material, know-how, and support to assess and deliver sustainable micro-enterprise solutions to impoverished villages.

GBB provides sustainable solutions by providing:

Direct Capital Investment In The Community (Community Investment Fund): As part of the GBB cost, each brigader will contribute a portion of their fees towards direct capital investment of the community where their project is located. This money will be used as the Brigade Team sees fit to provide architectural materials that suit the given project. The Brigade team itself is the deciding body on how this capital is spent in order to maximize project sustainability.
Human Resource Capital: Each Brigade will include at least 10-15 students who will engage a community, create an intercultural dialogue, and collaborate to provide the best sustainable solutions possible. Often times, brigaders walk away from these experiences learning much more than taught or built and gaining a valuable and eye-opening experience.
Global Brigades Is Not a One Time Hand Out. Often times, if a Brigade believes it is necessary, they can pursue 1-2 follow up brigades to ensure the execution of their sustainable development solutions. Global Brigades staff along with our partner organizations also continue to monitor the success of each brigade to ensure long term sustainability.

- Our student-driven model rests on four key assumptions
- 1. The world’s poorest communities need sustainable tools, training and resources to help break the cycle of poverty—not one-time hand outs.
  
  "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” - Chinese Proverb
  
  2. Helping a community develop organically-grown, sustainable businesses not only builds community wealth, it improves job skills, increases financial literacy and promotes long-term economic independence.
  
  "Values the promotion of entrepreneurship, inter alia, through the informal sector and micro-enterprises, in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and industries by various actors throughout civil society, and of privatization, demonopolization and the simplification of administrative procedures...” - United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/54/204
  
  3. Students have the power to bridge the gap between low-income micro-enterprises and the businesses tools, resources and seed investment they need to create real economic stability for their family and their community
  
  4. Communities are who serve. We support developing communities in being the best they can be, exploring and employing their natural assets and talents. What we don’t create: false dependencies or empty promises. What we do create: infrastructure, knowledge and hope. It’s quite simple, we think: “Do no harm and leave things better than you found them.”

GBB is currently focused in Central America, in some of the poorest communities in the western hemisphere. To ensure the sustainability of our actions we exclusively engage on projects together with our local and international partner organizations.

Who joins the GBB Team?

Global Business Brigades is open to all university and graduate students who are interested in sustainable economic and social development. Due to the nature of each project, students of all academic disciplines and backgrounds are encouraged to join and begin putting their skills and knowledge into practice.

Usually, these students will start a club on their campus, plan their project, and begin their brigade.

What is GBB's mission?

Global Business Brigades strives to create sustainable business and micro-enterprise solutions in Panamanian communities that have the potential and motivation to jump start their grassroots businesses. GBB utilizes cross cultural communication between university students from the US, empowerment partners, and the community members themselves.

Where is GBB?

Currently, GBB projects are happening in local Panamanian communities, with possibilities of extensions in other regions. Thus far, successful brigades have been implemented in the Veraguas, Coclé, Darien, Panama, and Comarca San Blas provinces of Panama with future poised to reach all areas of Panama.

Leadership Team

Adriana Piñeiro, Business Brigades Director, Panama