The rise of B Companies continues in Colombia

The commitment to generate positive impacts on society from the area of businesses has started to permeate the entrepreneurial sector in Colombia, where there are companies in which this premise is part of their reason for existing. In Latin America, B companies are the best example of this change of paradigm. B companies are a global movement created by B Lab in the United States of America, which proposes to use the strength of the market to generate social and environmental value. 

This vision and its advances were some of the subjects addressed in the second edition of "Día B Colombia" (B Day Colombia), an event led by Sistema B, CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and Natura Cosméticos. The space was favorable to share knowledge and experiences with local B companies, of which Colombia already has 40 aiming to generate profitability in financial terms, incorporating the common good to this equation.

This nourishing exchange of ideas included the participation of B companies such a María Panela, the first energy drink that brings together the main sources of agricultural employment in the country; Free Mind Drink, the first relaxing drink that promotes acts of pure freedom; 25 Export, which changes lives through soccer; Alcaguete, healthy snacks committed to fight against child malnutrition; Coocentral, which improves the quality of life of the coffee producers of Huila; Co-school, which through creative experiences educates the leaders of tomorrow; and Fruandes, a healthy food and responsible consumption alternative. 

The participants were able to learn first hand about the experience of these entrepreneurs that aim to the construction of a new economy, where Natura Cosméticos stood out. This Brazilian company, founded in 1969 with operations in 7 countries, was certified as a B company in 2014, the first in Latin America with open capital. 

For Ana Mercedes Botero, CAF's Director of Social Innovation, experiences such as B Day Colombia are part of the strengthening strategy of the ecosystem of companies with a purpose in Latin America, which is the objective of the strategic alliance between the multilateral organization and Sistema B, enabling the expansion of the model to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and more recently Mexico and Ecuador. "We work hand in hand with Sistema B to reintroduce ethics in businesses, and to seek sustainable and comprehensive development models". 

Laura Vélez, Executive Director of Sistema B Colombia, ratified the organization's commitment to continue working in redefining the sense of success, a task that is carried out with a community of shareholders of 1,700 B companies in 51 countries. "Our vision is an economy where success is measured by the wellbeing of people, societies, and nature", she said, adding that the growth of the B movement in Latin America is the fastest of all the regions in the planet. 

For Colombia, the big news is that an emblematic company of the food and beverage sector joins the B movement. This is Crepes & Waffles, the successful restaurant chain that opened its first establishment in Bogota in 1980, and after more than three decades, it has operations in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.