Cintrón studied accounting at the University of Puerto Rico and graduated with a bachelor's in Business Administration. Her career began as an auditor for Deloitte Puerto Rico and then Miami. She then decided to leave the Big 4 corporate world to explore the local firms on the Island, when she stumbled upon Kiva. On February 2nd, 2016 she welcomed the startup world; running (with a team of hustlers) a co-working space during the day, and growing access to the capital platform during her free time, Kiva PR. Ana María then started to spread the word about Kiva’s opportunities for small business owners, on local events and gatherings. During 2018, Kiva PR had helped over 80 funded borrowers on the island, and success stories were starting to bloom, material impact was being created in the island, importing global money into the economy, connecting hustlers with more than access to capital, and then Causa Local was incorporated to manage nontraditional access to the capital ladder.