Ana Maria Cintron-Marazzi
Hometown:
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Connect: LinkedIn
Ana Maria is excited to work with different stakeholders throughout the different regions of Puerto Rico to expand access to capital and connecting with other leaders who are passionate about creating impact and improving the quality of life in their communities. Her professional superpower is her ability to transform ideas into action.
Ana Maria Cintron-Marazzi studied accounting and finance at UPR Río Piedras. She worked at Deloitte in Puerto Rico and in the United States, as an auditor and consultant, providing financial services to a large number of international banks and global clients. In addition, she has vast experience as a consultant for small and medium businesses.
In 2018, she founded Causa Local 501(c)(3) (1101.01) to democratize access to capital in Puerto Rico for local entrepreneurs. Causa Local has impacted over 5k businesses in Puerto Rico and has deployed over $5 million in non-traditional access to capital, thanks to Kiva and other crowd-lending and crowdfunding platforms. In addition, Causa Local leads the Verizon Digital Educational Platform for local entrepreneurs to support their growth, financial health, and access to diverse global mentors. Causa Local partners with Seriously Creative to connect local entrepreneurs and community leaders with Design Thinking methodologies. Causa Local, works to support the solutions of business owners’ needs along their different stages, once they have received access to capital, creating long-term relationships.
Periodically, she facilitates four amazing events: Fuckup Nights, Academia Workshop, Women In the Arts, and Mujeres Sin Filtro. She feels very passionate and proud about the impact Causa Local has led in PR and the communities empowered in the most rural areas in Puerto Rico, and she loves her family very much. It’s all about teamwork!!!
ERC Project
Project Title:
Scaling Small Business and MicroEnterprise Lending in Puerto Rico
Host Community or Region:
Puerto Rico
Host Organization:
Inclusiv
This project addresses economic challenges Puerto Rico has faced, which are heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, by focusing on community-owned financial cooperatives ("cooperativas"). Rooted in rural communities underserved by mainstream financial institutions, cooperativas are integral to Puerto Rico's banking systems and are positioned to expand their lending programs. In collaboration Inclusiv, the ERC Fellow will craft a comprehensive regional strategy, offer technical assistance and provide strategic planning, while fostering capacity-building initiatives across the island. Developing an effective strategy will enhance small business lending and promote increased coordination among cooperatives. This effort collectively bolsters cooperativas and Inclusiv’s ability to identify and leverage resources, programs, and partnerships for enhanced local lending. The overarching objective is to deploy capital to all regions of Puerto Rico, contributing to equitable economic development and resilience while fostering small business growth and lending.
Interested in supporting this project or learning more? Contact the ERC program team here.
