The objective of the article is to characterize successful associative productive Units (UPAs abbreviation in Spanish) supported by Medellin Mayor's office through the "Solidarity Economy" program, included in the third line of the two latest development plans of the city. The applied methodology is based on a survey applied to 73 Associative Productive Units, considering key variables related to origin, current situation, and valuation of the support provided by Medellin Mayor's office, regarding the improvement of life conditions for both, the associative base and the social entrepreneurship itself. The results show that it is possible to create and strengthen this kind of initiatives in order to make them sustainable though time, based on premises related to self-management and solidarity, looking for the integral development of their associates.