ITHACA, N.Y.-- The Johnson School at Cornell University announced that Wesley Sine, assistant professor of management and organizations, received a grant from the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, an initiative of Cisco Systems, Inc. focused on fostering entrepreneurship. Cisco said it believes this initiative will create significant long-term benefits and help transform the economic landscape for customers and partners, while enabling Cisco to further expand its business and social impact.

The grant is currently funding entrepreneurship research in Latin America, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico, and will be conducted with local organizations in each country.

The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute and its local partners, including academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and economic development agencies, will offer participants in all five countries, entrepreneurship sessions and workshops. The Institute is focused on fostering entrepreneurship markets by working with local government and business organizations to foster the creation and success of small- and medium-sized businesses. The Institute provides practical business insights for entrepreneurs, facilitates knowledge-sharing with local business leaders and shows participants how to leverage technology to speed business growth.

Research is already under way in Chile, where Sine is currently tracking more than 300 participants with the El Instituto Professional (AIEP), an institution of higher education that seeks to become the leading institution of technical and vocational education in the country. 

"Through this research, we're looking to get a better idea of the causal factors that determine the extent to which the population engages in entrepreneurial activities and the degree of their success,” said Sine. “By tracking individual entrepreneurs and their ideas over time, we hope to learn more about the challenges they face and their motivations as they develop their new business ventures."