The program seeks to promote business models in El Salvador with products and services related to the Care Economy, where selected individuals and companies will have access to business strengthening. In addition, one outstanding entrepreneur will receive financial support of up to US$5,000. The application period starts on February 21 and will be available until March 20, 2022, through the official website https://negociosdelcuidado.org/

The Care Economy encompasses paid and unpaid activities and services for home and personal care, including care for the elderly, the disabled, child care, psychological care and mental health care, among others. Care is an activity that regenerates people's physical and emotional well-being on a daily basis, and is vital for society, where most of the activities are performed by women through care work and unpaid domestic work, which makes these contributions invisible to the economy.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, women spend three times as much time as men on care and domestic work. In rural areas, the burden of care and domestic work is even greater, due to the lack of access to basic infrastructure (running water, sanitation, electricity and other time- and labor-saving technologies).

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the care sector constitutes more than one third of women's employment, a work that is often performed in precarious conditions, under situations of violence or harassment and/or with low pay and little access to social protection, perpetuating the situation of poverty and exclusion of women working in this sector.

Therefore, the objective of the Care Economy is to recognize the economic value of care and thus reduce, reward and redistribute work, both inside and outside the home.

In this context, the Call for Businesses and Enterprises of the Care Economy is born, which aims to strengthen businesses and enterprises in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, related to care in all its forms, as an economic sector of sustainable opportunities that positively transform society, accelerating and expanding market solutions for a fairer economy.

The call is an invitation to participate for companies, ventures and/or individuals from all over the country with products, services and/or technologies that impact by reducing, rewarding and redistributing care work within any of the following focus areas:

Out-of-home long-term care: Products, services or technologies to support people with long-term care requirements that cannot be provided in the home due to their nature, contributing to improve their quality and accessibility.

Mental health: Products, services or technologies that provide psychological support to families and promote the mental health of all family members through research, education, diagnosis and comprehensive treatment.

Disability and rehabilitation: Products, services or technologies that provide opportunities to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities or in the process of recovering from illnesses, disorders, injuries or traumas, promoting their autonomy.

Home care: Products, services or technologies that support the care and maintenance of homes, facilitating and reducing the time spent on daily household chores.

The Call for Businesses and Companies of the Economy of Care 2022 invites all individuals, enterprises and companies in El Salvador to register for a key opportunity to promote or design their business models, with training from the hand of specialists, capital and networking spaces, giving way to a transformation of society.