Academy for Creating Enterprise is a company.
Academy for Creating Enterprise is a company.
Key people at Academy for Creating Enterprise.
Key people at Academy for Creating Enterprise.
The Academy for Creating Enterprise (ACE) is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to igniting the entrepreneurial mindset in faith-driven people through free business training, mentorship, and ongoing support, enabling sustainable self-reliance and poverty alleviation in developing nations.[1][2][3] It targets "necessity entrepreneurs" in regions like Latin America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, providing practical skills in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and business scaling; key impacts include 34,378 new businesses created in the past three years, 147,793 total graduates, 81% improved quality of life, 84% increased personal income, and 88% heightened commitment to community service.[2][3]
ACE's phased program—START NOW (initial income activities), GROW NOW (monthly chapter meetings), EXPAND NOW (business growth), and GIVE NOW (mentoring others)—fosters long-term accountability and expansion, with 72% of graduates launching and sustaining businesses.[1][2][3] In 2025, it launched a state-of-the-art learning management system for anytime-accessible training, alongside industry-specific resources.[1]
Founded in 1999 by Steve Gibson with a single school in the Philippines to teach entrepreneurship to low-income individuals, ACE has grown over 26 years into a global movement operating in 16 countries across three continents.[1][3][4] Steve Gibson initiated the effort to break cycles of generational poverty through business skills training.[3][7]
Robert Heyn, raised in Bogotá, Colombia, with a tech career, BYU MBA, experience at Utah's Suazo Center, and a mission in Mexico, joined Gibson as Executive Director (formerly CEO) to scale operations; under his leadership, ACE expanded from two countries (Mexico and Philippines) to 16.[3] Pivotal moments include training over 150,000-147,793 entrepreneurs, establishing local "chapters" for ongoing peer accountability, and the 2025 launch of digital tools amid rising global need for self-reliance amid job insecurity.[1][2][3]
ACE rides the global rise of edtech and digital inclusion trends, using its 2025 learning management system to democratize entrepreneurship education in low-connectivity regions, aligning with forces like job insecurity, post-pandemic necessity entrepreneurship, and faith-based development aid.[1][2][3] Timing is ideal amid economic pressures in Latin America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, where informal economies dominate and formal jobs are scarce; market forces like mobile tech penetration and donor interest in measurable poverty impact favor its model.[3]
It influences the ecosystem by creating "ripples of prosperity"—alumni businesses strengthen families/communities, with graduates mentoring newcomers, fostering localized startup cultures without VC dependency; this complements tech hubs by building grassroots human capital for sustainable development.[1][2]
ACE is poised for exponential growth via digital tools, targeting deeper penetration in existing 16 countries and new regions, with trends like AI-enhanced training and corporate partnerships amplifying reach.[1][3] Its influence may evolve from direct training to ecosystem builder, incubating scalable micro-enterprises that feed into larger supply chains. As global inequality persists, ACE's faith-rooted, data-backed self-reliance path positions it to empower millions more, transforming poverty cycles into enduring prosperity.
