About Us
Founded in 2023 in the Calchaquí Valleys of Argentina, Chaka is a non-profit organization based in Latin America. With a proven incubation model, it seeks to increase the profitability of businesses led by women from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is a community of Indigenous artisans, culinary micro-entrepreneurs, mentors, and allies.
Our Story
Chaka was born as an experimental pilot aimed at addressing a profound challenge: enabling women from disadvantaged backgrounds to access sustainable economic opportunities. Through iterations and learning, we evolved into a proven business incubation model designed to be scalable and replicable across Latin America. Today, after more than three years of work, we have developed a structured methodology that increases the profitability of businesses and strengthens the economic autonomy of women entrepreneurs.
Our Values
Ethnic-Racial Equity
We recognize and address the structural barriers faced by Indigenous-descendant women in Latin America. We believe that any inclusive development model must adopt an intersectional approach that considers gender, race, and class.
Economic Autonomy
We believe in the power of financial independence as a tool to transform lives. Our work is focused on helping entrepreneurs build profitable, sustainable businesses capable of thriving without long-term external assistance.
Diversity in Economic Leadership
To reduce inequality in the region, we support the rise of self-made employers—women entrepreneurs who not only generate income for themselves but also become job creators within their communities. They are role models and living proof that it is possible to build successful businesses out of adversity.
Our Founder: Inés Palacios
Our Founder
Inés Palacios is a political scientist and social entrepreneur from Tucumán, Argentina. Her Indigenous heritage gave her firsthand insight into the barriers Indigenous women face in accessing economic opportunities. Her experience with gender-based economic violence within her family led her to become a feminist activist and develop impactful social solutions.
Before founding Chaka, Inés led the first Gender Mainstreaming Plan in the Province of Buenos Aires, benefiting more than two million women. She has been a fellow of prestigious programs such as the Di Tella University Scholarship, the U.S. International Leadership Program, and the Obama Scholars program at Columbia University. Her work with Chaka led her to be a finalist in the Social Business Creation Competition in Canada.
In 2022, Inés joined President Barack Obama on The Daily Show, where she emphasized the importance of creating economic opportunities for women in vulnerable contexts. She also coordinates a programming scholarship program for 1,200 youth in her hometown and designs strategies to help Indigenous women access jobs in the tech sector—where they remain significantly underrepresented.
Our Partners
