Empowering indigenous women toward economic sovereignty.
Our Vision
A future where indigenous women lead thriving communities fostering pride, prosperity, and shared value through economic sovereignty.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower indigenous women through access to markets, co-creation and community development by building progressive business models and strategies with ongoing support for the implementation of these.
Who is Sara Omi?
Sara Omi is an Emberá leader, lawyer, and internationally recognized advocate for Indigenous women’s rights, climate justice, and cultural preservation in Panama. As the first Emberá woman to become a lawyer in Panama, she has dedicated her life to opening doors for Indigenous women and building systems for economic and cultural sovereignty.
- Leader, first Emberá woman to become a lawyer in Panama
- Named among the Most Powerful Women in Central America by Forbes (2026, 2023, 2022)
- Outstanding Woman of the Year – Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE), 2024
- More than 100,000 miles traveled worldwide to COP 21 - 27, and many other global events
- And many other international global impact conferences
“Today we are building a Foundation that bears my name, Sara Omi, which ultimately connects with all the work I have been developing over years, and represents the leadership of indigenous women – keeping alive our dreams of strengthening our own economies through the wisdom and knowledge of our people, connected with our Mother Earth.”
A New Approach
We are creating a new paradigm for launching and scaling non-profit foundations.
We are utilizing the Silicon valley startup model, applied to impact.
We invite you to think of us as a startup, an impact startup.
Please consider your role as an early investor in a startup – as an impact angel investor.
How We Work
- We research and identify real problems by listening to the communities real needs on the ground
- We co-create solutions with the community
- We apply MVPs (Minimal Viable Product) in each phase
- Design → Build → Test → Launch
- Use AI, media, and systems thinking to accelerate execution and learning
In Practice
- We apply AI, systems thinking and Media
- We run Design-A-Thons as co-creation labs
- Build systems, processes and infrastructure
- Create market access, with ongoing support
- Develop replicable frameworks for scale
- We are developing Sara’s community of Ipetí as a growth lab and business accelerator
Accomplished to Date
- Duly registered as a US based 501c3 with the accompanying EIN tax exemption documentation
- Panamanian legal documentation submitted to the Ministry of Government (MINGOV) (By AFRA ESG)
- Foundation architecture in place (legal, financial, operational)
- Ambassador Ana Irene Delgado, Panama’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, passionately advocated for the Sara Omi Foundation at a week long congress of indigenous affairs, culminating in Sara addressing the OAS General Assembly on behalf of indigenous women economic sovereignty
- 3-Day Design-A-Thon
- Created E-commerce MVP (product design, testing)
- Successfully tested the MVP at the Cross Roads Festival
- First brand collaboration with Panamanian artists PAPE and product launch (Somos Primeras)
- Trailer for upcoming documentary produced
- Created brand, website, and storytelling systems
- AI tools, documentation, operating systems
- Community infrastructure (computer equipment, water filtration systems)
- Preliminary work on charity golf tournament
- Crossroads festival- MVP testing
- E-commerce MVP with Jumara Juwa & PAPE Ink collab – Mystery Box launched September 30, 2026
- 3 indigenous women mentorships are under way
- Jumara Juwa and Amarié are the first two accelerator cohorts
- Fully implemented tech stack (Claude, Slack, Asana, Shopify, Mailchimp, Donorbox, Quickbooks and more)
- AI powered governance system in progress with Muuvement
- Computer lab with two computers, Starlink and computer learning
The Numbers
Contribute
We are currently inviting angel/seed contributors in the range of:
$5,000 - and above
Example:
Early supporters such as TASØ Holdings, a Panama based hospitality company, has contributed $7,500 which has been earmarked for the purchase and installation of a water filtration system for the Embera community of Ipeti
If you are ready to contribute:
Thank you for considering contributing to indigenous women economic sovereignty.
Our Team
“This project is deeply personal, not only to myself but to our entire dedicated and selfless team. What started as an idea has grown into a movement — one shaped not only by our vision, but also by the voices, needs, and aspirations of the Indigenous women we support.
Investing in women, and even more so in Indigenous women, has been shown to return exponential dividends. The money they earn stays in the family and in the community — they decide whether to send the kids to school or buy food, and that grows the future of the whole community. That is economic sovereignty: they decide. Not the men, not the NGOs, not the foundations. They do.
With your support we’re certain we can shape a new model for future foundations and non-profits. Thank you in advance for your support and all of us look forward to seeing you at the formal launch of the Sara Omi Foundation.”
If you are still curious how we are doing it
You can learn more by downloading our 2026-27 vision deck.