Business Labs in the Amazon Piedmont

This research, titled “Business laboratories as a pedagogical strategy for the development of entrepreneurial competencies,”addressesthelimitedtraining in entrepreneurship in the Amazonian foothills, specifically in the municipalities of Florencia and El Doncello, Caquetá, where labor informality and educational gaps constrain youth development opportunities. The primary objective of this research progress is to propose and theoretically underpin the use of business laboratories as an innovative strategy for the development of competencies in 160 tenth-grade students from the educational institutions Sagrados Corazones, Corazón Inmaculado de María, and Cervantes. 

The methodological foundation is based on a mixed-methods approach with a quasi-experimental design and multiple case studies, utilizing the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) as the guiding axis to operationalize the dimensions of ideas and opportunities, resources, and into action.

Based on an exhaustive literature review and the analysis of the regional context, it was identified that the disconnection between the educational curriculum and the productive reality is the main obstacle to local entrepreneurship. Preliminary findings derived from the theoretical component indicate that simulation laboratories act as critical bridges for knowledge transfer, projecting a positive impact on students’ self-confidence, creative thinking, and management capacity. It is concluded that the pedagogical structuring of these spaces, under the EntreComp model, has the potential to transform the entrepreneurial culture of the participating institutions and their families. This document provides the conceptual basis and the design of a replicable strategy that seeks to bridge the gap between secondary education and the regional productive sector, laying the groundwork for an implementation that contributes to the sustainable socioeconomic development of the department of Caquetá.