Vizolet Kuwanda and Thulani Masebenza - two upcoming South African entrepreneurs - had the opportunity to be part of the inaugural Latam Impact Program.  The program brought together a group of 15 extraordinary young minds selected around the world, with the direction being led by a faculty of top experts and mentors from Stanford (Bill Burnet, Cynthia Benjamin and John Armstrong), Harvard (Colleen Kelly), Princeton (Martin Johnson) and the Kairos Fund (Ryan Bloomer).

The Latam Impact Program is a three-week long immersive and world-class learning experience designed to pioneer innovative solutions for today’s critical problems, in Latin America’s dynamic innovation hub located in the city of Medellín.  Medellín is an interesting and vibrant city as thirty years ago it was the most violent city in the world but today the Wall Street Journal names it one of the most innovative cities in the world and The Guardian called it a miracle of reinvention because it has become a city which is now famous for its many social impact projects.

Colombia like many developing countries in Latin America and around the world, faces a problem of financial inclusion which is fuelled by being too heavily reliant on cash as a form of transacting.  Vizolet and Thulani worked on a project which aimed to create a solution to this problem by gamifying how the youth tracks their transactions. 

The prototype for this solution was piloted at the University of Antioquia Colombia, Parque Explora and Ruta N (The Innovation and Business Centre of Medellín). The prototype was pitched at a Demo Day by Vizolet, Thulani as well as the rest of the financial inclusion project team.  The Demo Day was attended by Kairos Fund, Bancolombia, Colombian investors and high-profile government leaders. The prototype is now in the development phase which is being executed by a team of local Colombian entrepreneurs who were part of the program.

“Never underestimate what multicultural youth can come up with when they collaborate”.

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For more information on the Latam Impact Program, click on the link below:https://latamimpactprogram.com/