Impact Evaluation Of The Business Strengthening Program (Micro Businesses – Uniminuto) In The City Of Santa Marta In The Period 2020 – 2023

UNIMINUTO's headquarters in Santa Marta has been participating in this strategy for the last 4 years. According to the area in charge of micro-businesses, up to the first semester of 2022, 228 micro-businesses were assisted, and in the second semester of the same year, 96 micro-businesses were assisted. However, due to the medium and long-term sustainability of some of these micro-businesses, several have closed or are close to closing. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an evaluation using a diagnostic tool to measure the effectiveness, relevance and adaptation of the entrepreneurial tools offered by the program, considering the local context of the District of Santa Marta. This is reinforced by the DANE report, which indicates that between April and June 2023 the informal occupation in Colombia was 58%, while in Santa Marta it reached 65%, exceeding 50% of informal occupation. The data come from the Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH), whose purpose is to provide statistical information on the labor market, income, monetary poverty and demographic characteristics in Colombia. These data underline the importance of evaluating the impact of the Business Strengthening Program (Micronegocios - Uniminuto) in Santa Marta, during the period 2020-2023, in order to propose an improvement plan in the functional areas that require progress and strengthening in the micro-businesses served in this research. The methodology used to carry out the study will be based on a quantitative approach with a descriptive scope, using a sample of 17 micro-businesses.