Selva Ganadora (Jungle Winner) is a USAID/Peru development project that started in 2009.  The project includes training activities and dissemination of entrepreneurial skills in the Peruvian jungle communities.  Selva Ganadora gives recognition to licit entrepreneurial initiatives as alternatives to activities linked to illegal drug trade. Selva Ganadora is designed as a competition capable to fund some on-execution projects leaded by participating communities.

Selva Ganadora’s objective is to help improve life in rural communities of the Peruvian Jungle through the promotion of entrepreneurial activities (both economic and social), the improvement of their business skills and the connection of their projects with the private and public sector. USAID/Peru believes that those activities will help communities achieve a legal and formal lifestyle, respecting their environment and promoting women’s active participation. 

This year’s fourth edition of Selva Ganadora was focused on alternative development communities in San Martin, Huánuco, and Ucayali.  With this edition USAID/Peru sought to recognize the efforts of those entrepreneurial projects that encouraged sustainable development and helped create conditions for better quality of life for the residents of participating communities.  There were two categories in the contest: “entrepreneurial community” and “entrepreneurial heroine”.  The first category, entrepreneurial community, gave recognition to a community with an ongoing economic or social entrepreneurial initiative that evidenced meritorious success and team effort. The second category, entrepreneurial heroine, gave recognition to a female community leader who through her endeavors and life example contributed to the development of her community. Over 300 project proposals for small-scale social and economic initiatives were submitted.  Under this edition the local firm Somos Empresa was in charge of the design and development of the campaign.