Starting after age 60 _

Javier Gutiérrez is 63 years old and has been promoting a natural products venture in Bogotá for more than five years. Although much of his life he worked in companies, he says that gastronomy is his thing. Today she sells jams, sauces, fruit in syrup, and peanut butter that she prepares without preservatives and sells under the Delicias Doña Carmen brand, dedicated to her mother.

Like other small businessmen, Javier earns an important part of his income through his culinary project, which he has made known through word of mouth. However, he affirms that the most difficult thing to undertake at his age is having the resources to develop the products. “The credits of the elderly are not to go traveling, but rather they stay in the venture,” he says. “We need a space for them to believe in us. Now they only believe in young people and big companies”.

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According to the most recent figures from DANE, it is estimated that there are 6,808,641 older adults in Colombia; that is, people who are sixty years of age or older. Of this group, 55% correspond to women and 45% to men.

This is a population that, despite being of pensionable age, has almost no access to this financial benefit. According to DANE, for the August-October 2020 quarter, only 16.1% of the elderly population contributed to a pension. In that period of time, 97.2% contributed to health.

Since three out of four older adults in Colombia do not have this payment, many of them have decided to undertake to have an extra income. That is the case of Gloria Arias, a 64-year-old paisa who worked in tourism, clothing and decoration companies throughout her life and realized, very late, that some of her bosses did not make the corresponding contributions. to her pension. “The day I went to consult, convinced that I was missing a year, the lawyer told me that I was missing seven. I was left to cry at the desk. I was tired, I wanted to enjoy my pension. It was a hard blow," he recalls.

Although her husband is already a pensioner and Gloria has worked as a production assistant in a chocolate shop, in her spare time she runs two businesses to occupy herself and have some income. One consists of making bags and accessories with recovered materials. The other is a pastry project that she created with her son as a result of the pandemic: they prepare cakes, cookies, brownies and other desserts that are later delivered to homes throughout Medellín.

“As a good mom of a certain age, I'm a little slow on technology and lazy about it. I have only had Facebook. Through Facebook, word of mouth, and my social and family circle, I became known and began to participate in fairs and bazaars," she says. However, due to the isolation measures, Gloria, like thousands of entrepreneurs and artisans from all over the country, has had to exhibit their products intermittently, as several events were canceled between 2020 and 2021. The woman says that during the pandemic has prospered his pastry business more than the sale of handbags.

The same thing happened to Aura Dulcey, a 67-year-old art teacher who lives in Cali with her husband, her niece, and the young woman's son. Before the pandemic, Ella Aura used to work with local authorities developing productive units with women from her city. However, the workshops were suspended due to the pandemic and she was forced to start her own project.

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Today she sells embroidered garments, such as blouses, baby clothes, sheets and jackets, in addition to the clothes that some clients commission her to do. Their product prices range from $50,000 to $70,000, and it takes Aura one to three days to complete.

“Garments last if you take care of them: the threads and materials are of better quality than those on the outside. Over there, the Colombian product is very famous, but here people don't buy the same”, says the artist. During the pandemic, she has had to sell some food products, since her embroidery is not always enough.

“Right now we are standing still because people would rather buy food than art products. We all contribute a little (at home), but things are hard, ”she says.

According to DANE, for the August-October quarter of last year, 62.5% of employed older adults in Colombia were self-employed; that is, they have their own businesses or do not have a labor relationship, for example. Only 14.2% were private employees.

For a few months, Javier, Gloria and Aura are part of a free platform that makes visible the enterprises of the elderly in Colombia. The project is called Emprende Mayor and was devised by Mayor Vida, an online community focused on older people, and the Colombian Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (ACGG).

The page, which is part of the Mayor Vida website, is free and exposes nearly thirty enterprises from all over the country. Among the products that can be found there are fabrics, crafts, desserts and essences, among others. Visitors can read about the creators, the history of their products, and how to contact them to place an order. In addition, the section shares its projects on social networks so that they reach a wider audience.

“We know that they are people with experience and skills that they have developed throughout a lifetime to create these ventures. These products are of high quality and can contribute to economic reactivation," says Andrés Maldonado, manager of Mayor Vida.

The alliance between the online community and the ACGG has made it possible for interested parties to make themselves known on their platforms at no cost. To participate in Emprende Mayor, people must be over sixty years of age, have a business of products available that are made by them or their companies and fill out a form on the Mayor Vida page explaining what they are treat your project. Those who find it difficult to access the internet are supported through the cell number 317 515 7103.

“Sometimes they are difficult stories, sometimes they are very beautiful, but they always motivate us to look forward. It is never too late to do things”, adds Maldonado. “You would like to help them in every possible way, but here we go; It's all a matter of patience and time."

Emprende Mayor is also part of the CEmprende project network, of Innpulsa Colombia, the entity of the Ministry of Commerce that focuses on supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. Through this network, the creators of the platform have managed to spread the project and will soon be part of a virtual fair. In addition, they allied with the Javeriana University to teach an entrepreneurship course to some of the older adults.

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“We are going to finance these courses so that they learn much more about what it means to start a business, which is not just having a product and selling it, but involves many things”, adds the manager of Mayor Vida.

As the platform is relatively new, Javier, Gloria and Aura still depend a lot on the support of neighbors, clients and acquaintances. “I am always waiting, looking at WhatsApp to see if they have already started writing to me. It changes life, and it's cool when they start calling you”, says Javier.

Gloria, for her part, says that the years have taught her to be patient and she hopes that the second semester will be more fruitful than the one that has already passed, because, ultimately, it is a job she does out of passion. “Fear is the worst pandemic of humanity and it slows us down a lot. If you have an idea in your head and you want to be active, move your neurons, you have to put fear aside. Life takes turns that one never imagines”, he concludes.