A Opção

Founded in 2008 by an alliance of young business professionals and entrepreneurs from the U.S. and Brazil through private donations, A Opção's networks in Brazil and in the U.S. actively seek out small businesses and vendors located in or around Favelas whose proprietors are motivated to improve their business models.  Once a business or vendor is identified, a team of Brazil and U.S. based volunteer consultants and advisors recommends ways of establishing a more creative and savvy market for the business and its surrounding area.  Customers benefit by being afforded a more stable market creating a sense of pride in the community while proprietors see their profits grow and their businesses flourish.

A Opção also assists individuals living in Favela communities in cultivating and launching new business ventures, big or small, through local seminars and one-on-one counseling on topics ranging from saving and earning money to pricing strategies and marketing.

A Opção strives to create opportunities for individual self-proprietorship, legal stability, and a larger commercial framework for those individuals living in Rio's Favelas who would not otherwise have these options.  From the former drug runner turned deposit broker to the owner of a local fruit business to the entrepreneur selling coconut water, A Opção volunteers strive to lend business acumen to those who need it most. 

Click here to learn more about Favelas in Brazil.