Innovation and social enterprise for economic inclusion in Latin America

The Ashoka summit in Santiago brought together 14 social entrepreneurs from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Spain, France and Mexico, with initiatives aimed at reducing poverty, strengthening financial mechanisms and overcoming the barriers women face when trying to finance their projects.

During the event, social entrepreneurs worked with business people, executives and experts in economic inclusion, who offered their vision and knowledge in scale and commerce. Among them were Gonzalo Muñoz, Triciclos; Hans Eben, CEO of Unilever; Carolina Carrasco, IDB innovation specialist; Ricardo Solari, TVN Executive Director;  Ana Mercedes Botero, CAF Corporate Director of Social Innovation; Soledad Ovando, General Manager of Banco Estado Microempresa; Peter Beez, economist at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; and Virgilio Barco, Director of Acumen Latin America.

Sebastián Salinas, founding director of Balloon, said that the Globalizer experience was unique. "The more you open up, the more surprised you are at the feedback. Although it was an intense session, you know that every minute of this training was worth it."

Guillermo Pepe, director of Mamotest, Argentina, highlighted what a great opportunity it was to interact with such a diverse and experienced group of entrepreneurs. While Brazilian David Hertz, founder of Gastromotiva, emphasized how this program allowed him to see both the opportunities and also the limitations on business ventures as they look to the future.

Ana Mercedes Botero, CAF Corporate Director of Social Innovation, one of the strategic think-tank experts, highlighted the strengths of the strategic alliance with Ashoka. "The Globalizer has proven to be a valuable forum for testing models and dynamics for social change with the potential to scale, gain knowledge and boost the creation of means of collaboration so that we can work together to develop useful solutions that provide services to the vast majority."

Nadine Freeman, Co-Director of Globalizer, expressed her enthusiasm for the number of social entrepreneurs and strategic advisers involved. "This has no doubt contributed to the consolidation of extremely robust strategies to achieve important systemic changes.  We are excited to see how these ideas, advice and contacts will help to balance economic opportunity for all Latin Americans."